


that's not orange juice

by SomethingWithAPotato, xmyp



Series: That's Not Orange Juice Series [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Bottom Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray Bashing, I started writing this before the finale, M/M, Maryse is a good mom - Freeform, Mpreg, Original Character(s), Top Magnus Bane, alec drinks orange juice, alec has a dream about jimon and wants to die, big fluff, gestational magic, heartwarming epilogue?, jace eats everything, malec and jace are an emotional throuple, more tv canon than book canon but does not follow the show ending, slight magicians crossover, small angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-04 22:09:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18821743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomethingWithAPotato/pseuds/SomethingWithAPotato, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xmyp/pseuds/xmyp
Summary: “Hey Magnus, what’s this?” Alec asked his voice higher than usual with concern.Magnus poked his head out of his study-slash-alchemy room, a smudge of something bright pink on his cheek. He saw Alec standing in front of the open refrigerator, a jug of orange liquid in hand as he peered at it suspiciously. “Oh, that? Not juice, don’t drink it.”“What would happen if I did?”“Did you?”Alec hesitated. “Maybe."





	1. that's not orange juice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SomethingWithAPotato](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomethingWithAPotato/gifts).



> This would not have started or ended without the constant praise and love from somethingwithapotato. 
> 
> This is an MPREG fic. This is an integral part of this fic. If you do not like MPREG, please do not read this. If you like MPREG, please read this. 
> 
> Also, this is my first fic in this fandom, please be kind.

October—

 

“Hey Magnus, what’s this?” Alec asked his voice higher than usual with concern.

Magnus poked his head out of his study-slash-alchemy room, a smudge of something bright pink on his cheek. He saw Alec standing in front of the open refrigerator, a jug of orange liquid in hand as he peered at it suspiciously. “Oh, that? Not juice, don’t drink it.”

“What would happen if I did?”

“Did you?”

Alec hesitated. “Maybe...I thought it was orange juice!”

“ _ Alexander _ ,” Magnus said in a lightly scolding tone. “That’s what I get for assuming you would know better, I guess.” He thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure what will happen.” He started to go back to his business, then added as an afterthought, “But you should be fine.”

Alec stared after him. Then followed him. “What does that mean? What was this for?”

“It’s something that Catarina and I have been working on, but it isn’t finished. Think of it like...magical in vitro,” Magnus said, waving a hand dismissively. “But like I said, it’s not finished, so, don’t worry.”

Alec mouthed the words ‘magical in vitro.’ “In vitro as in…”

“In vitro as in for making babies, yes.”

“Oh...well then I’m good. Because I can’t make babies.”

For some reason that was unknown to Alec, what he said caught Magnus’s attention. A feeling of weariness settled over Alec as Magnus looked at him for a long moment.

“What?” Alec finally said, breaking the silence.

“Nothing.” 

“No, what is it?”

“It’s just… you can’t exactly make a potion sex-specific…”

“But it’s not finished,” Alec said hurriedly.

“Right, not finished. Probably nothing to worry about.”

“Probably?” Alec’s eyes were getting a slightly crazed look.

“Yeah. Just… stay nearby… so I can fix you if you break.” Magnus watched Alec process for a moment before he turned away. “And put that back in the fridge!”

As the hours after the incident passed, the slight panic caused by Magnus’s words were for nothing. That’s what Alec decided as he carried on with his day. He looked fine, he felt fine, he was fine. It seemed to him, and to Magnus, that the potion had no effect on Alec whatsoever.

* * *

It was rare that Alec was awake before Magnus. It was even rarer that Alec was awake before the sun came up, assuming, that is, that he went to sleep before the sun came up. He rolled from his back onto his stomach, his arms curling under his pillows. As soon as his hips settled against the bed he became painfully aware of what woke him up. He groaned softly as he shifted uncomfortably against the bed.

“‘s wrong?” Magnus mumbled from his pillow. 

“I’ve got morning wood,” Alec grumbled.

“‘s not morning.”

“I know.” Alec pushed up onto his elbows, biting back a moan as the new position pushes his hips into the bed again. “Do you wanna fuck?”

“Again?” Magnus asked. Magnus had blessed Alec with a blowjob when they went to bed earlier that night, and he wasn’t really complaining about going again, just a little surprised. It had to be that damn stamina rune. Magnus was silent for a moment then hummed and rolled onto his back. “You do all the work.”

Alec climbed over him and set to work undressing them both from the waist down, leaving Alec fully naked and Magnus in a loose tank top, the bottom of which was riding up his stomach in the most enticing way. Alec leaned down to kiss a wet trail up Magnus’s flawless abdomen, nudging the shirt up further with his nose as his hand moved between them to stroke Magnus. Magnus’s lack of bellybutton never failed to fascinate Alec and he always spent lingered a little longer in the area that one should have been when he worshipped the warlock’s body. 

Magnus expected Alec to move between his legs at some point, had even taken a mental moment to prepare himself in advance, so he was mildly surprised as Alec moved to straddle his hips. He opened his eyes sleepily to look up at the shadowhunter, raising an eyebrow in question. Despite the darkness of the early morning, they could easily see each other, and Alec took note of the questioning look. 

“I just want it,” Alec muttered. “Help me out?”

It wasn’t unusual for Alec to be on the receiving end of things, and he certainly never denied Magnus when that was what he wanted, but it was rare that Alec vocalized his desire for it. And it was like catnip for Magnus, an instant high sending tendrils of excitement coursing through him as he sat up. Magnus circled an arm around Alec, reaching beneath him. Alec slipped an arm around Magnus’s shoulders and pulled him into a kiss, and with a silent spell that came to Magnus as naturally as breathing anymore, he made sure Alec was prepped and ready.

The kiss turned into a mingling of breaths and moans as Alec sank down onto Magnus. It was like that for a time, moving together, moaning together, their lips brushing and parting in the same rhythm. The pace was terribly slow, for Magnus anyway, and he rolled them over, pinning Alec to the bed. 

There was little hesitation or adjustment before Magnus picked up the pace. Alec’s long legs wound around Magnus’s hips as if to keep him in place, and his hands touched any part of Magnus that he could reach. Alec was barely there mentally. Sex with Magnus had always been mind-blowing, the privilege of sleeping with someone with hundreds of years of experience, but this...this was something else. This was Cloud 9 on ecstasy good...or that’s what Alec’s brain came up with in his lust-drunk stupor. He didn’t know what was different, but he also wasn’t about to question it for fear that it would wear off. 

Magnus dropped his head to the crook of Alec’s neck, lightly dragging his teeth along the rune there, just the way that Alec likes. He had also slipped his hand between them, stroking Alec in time with his thrusts with the kind of coordination that only comes with practice. One of Alec’s hands slipped into Magnus’s hair, not quite gripping, but holding Magnus in place nonetheless as the warlock’s name started to spill from his lips. That was always Magnus’s cue that Alec was close, but the edge of blissed-out desperation was new. 

Alec finished first, but the way his body gripped Magnus pulled him over the edge shortly after. Magnus slowly relaxed against Alec, and Alec slowly relaxed against the bed, his legs loosening their hold, but still lazily holding Magnus against him. 

After a moment to catch their breath, Magnus carefully lifted his hips to pull out. He slid his arms under Alec’s shoulders and settled against him, kissing his chest and neck before resting his head against Alec’s shoulder. 

“Magnus…” Alec sighed, sounding wholly content. 

“Mm?”

“That felt… really good.”

“Mhm, I was there.”

“No, like… even better than usual. No offense.”

“None taken.” Alec shifted to give Magnus a incredulous look. “What? I know that sex with me is better than average.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Alec rolled his eyes. “You are my average.”

“Alright, alright,” Magnus pushed himself up to see Alec better. “Do you want to keep talking or get some more sleep before the sun comes up?”

Alec hummed and grabbed Magnus by the shoulders to pull him back down. “Sleep now. Talk later.”

“There’s the caveman I know and love,” Magnus teased. With a snap of his fingers, he cleaned them off and brought the sheets up from where they were pooled at their knees. 

He didn’t think twice about Alec’s unusual morning wood or behavior, nor did he question Alec’s mention of the sex being different. And why would he? It was somewhere between 4:30 and daylight and he needed his beauty rest. Questioning things could come later. 

* * *

It was midday before Alec opened his eyes again. He had woken up a few times between the early morning and noon, but refused to face the day and kept his eyes glued shut until he absolutely could not any longer. He pushed his arms over his head and reached his feet out as far as they would go in a long stretch, groaning as he released it and felt several muscles spasm slightly. He could hear voices outside of the bedroom, one was obviously Magnus, but the other was too quiet to tell. He started to sit up, but was pushed back down by the weight of Chairman Meow pouncing onto his chest. Magnus’s familiar circled his chest once then plopped down, letting out a long meow. 

A moment later, Alec heard the unmistakable sound of a portal opening and closing, followed by Magnus’s firm footsteps coming toward the bedroom. 

Alec dragged a pillow from Magnus’s side of the bed and stuffed it under his head, propping himself up without jostling the cat on his chest too much. He watched the door until it opened, Magnus’s head poking around it first before the rest of him followed. 

“It’s about time you woke up,” Magnus said, stepping to Alec’s side of the bed and taking a seat on the edge. 

Alec smiled softly, “How’d you know?”

“I have a spy,” Magnus said, reaching out to stroke Chairman Meow. 

Alec was entirely unsurprised. “Who was here?”

“Catarina,” Magnus said, moving his hand to rub Alec’s side. 

Alec grabbed his hand absentmindedly and linked their fingers together. “Oh? What was she doing here so early?”

“I don’t know that I would call noon ‘early.’ We were discussing the potion that you drank.”

“I’m calling that the not-orange-juice. Is that all you were discussing?” Alec asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“I may have also mentioned what happened this morning.”

“What about it?” Alec asked, shifting to sit up more.

“Just that you mentioned that something was different. I suppose it could’ve been a coincidence that it happened after you drank the potion but...better safe than sorry.”

“Well if exceptionally good sex is the only side effect of drinking it, go ahead and keep a batch on hand at all times.”

Magnus breathed a laugh, “I’ll see what I can do.

Alec sighed and closed his eyes. “So other than really good sex, do you think there’s anything else I should worry about?”

“How did we go from ‘exceptionally good’ to ‘really good’?”

“Would ‘better than average’ suit you?” Alec quipped, peeking at Magnus with one eye. 

“It would not suit me at all,” Magnus said, scooping up Chairman Meow and setting him on the floor, clearing the way for him to crawl over Alec, his fingers finding the ticklish spots on Alec’s sides that he pretended didn’t exist most of the time. After a moment of torturing the usually stoic shadowhunter into a fit of laughter and smiles, Magnus sat back on his heels. “To answer your question, I think you’ll be fine. But we’ll just have to wait and see.” 

* * *

As head of the Institute, Alec had an obligation to at least show his face around the place, even in times of relative peace. Despite the questionable turn of events that followed drinking the not-orange-juice, Alec’s afternoon was pretty much par for the course. He signed some documents that were left for him, checked in with Izzy, sparred with Jace, and avoided Clary. All in a day’s work. 

“So,” Jace said as he sat across from Alec in his office. “What are you and Magnus up to later?”

“Why do you ask?” Alec tilted his head. 

“Well, I was hoping I could go to your place and hang out for a bit.”

“Oh yeah? Trouble in paradise?”

Jace shifted uncomfortably. “No! What makes you say that?”

“Because usually, you’re up Clary’s ass too much to want to hang out. But sure, you can come over.”

“ _ Alec _ ,” Jace said, shocked at Alec’s blunt admission. Alec shrugged. “...So can I stay in one of the spare rooms?”

“That’s why we have them,” Alec said, holding back a smile.

“Look at you!” Jace teased. “You’re entirely too happy about this.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“You don’t have to. I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re smiling on the inside.”

“Hn, that’s true enough.” Alec leaned back in his chair, a small smirk gracing his lips. “What can I say? I tried to like the girl for you and Izzy, but she’s childish, self-absorbed, and a little clingy. You could do better.”

Jace propped his chin up on the desk. “Damn, tell me how you really feel, why don’t you?”

“I thought that’s what I was doing,” Alec said with a shrug. “Listen, do what you want, it’s your life, all that good stuff, you’re always welcome to crash at our place when you need to get away.”

Jace nodded along as Alec spoke. “I hear what you’re saying. Hey, but while we’re on the topic of relationships, why is your husband calling me and telling me to check on you?”

“He did what?” Alec asked, his face scrunching in confusion. 

“Yeah, he called me earlier and told me to check in on you while you’re here. Are you sick or something?”

Alec’s face went back to its usual blank slate. “No, it’s because I… nevermind. Don’t worry about it. I’m good. Did you tell him I’m good?”

“Yeah, because you seemed alright when we sparred earlier.”

“Because I’m alright. If he calls again, just tell him I’m good. You don’t have to check in on me.”

“If you say so,” Jace said, standing up from his seat and extending his hand out to Alec. “I’ve got some work to do. I’ll see you later.”

“Alright,” Alec nodded, reaching a hand across the table to slap Jace’s. “Later.”

* * *

Alec was barely through the doors of his and Magnus’s shared apartment when Magnus appeared before him. 

“Why is your parabatai dodging my calls?”

Alec sighed and moved to hang up his coat. “Why are you telling my parabatai to spy on me for you?”  

“I was just making sure you were okay.”

“Trust me,” Alec said as he turned back to Magnus (who was hot on his heels). “You don’t have to enlist Jace to check on me. You’ll be the first to know if I start feeling different.” He pressed his lips to Magnus’s in a gentle kiss. “You’re cute when you’re worried, but you said so yourself, we probably shouldn’t be concerned.”

Magnus frowned but said nothing, a sign that he was conceding. “You promise to call me if you notice something’s different?”

“Of course. I’d be too freaked out to call anyone else.”

Magnus nodded. “That’s true.” He moved his hands to Alec’s sides. “So, what do you want to do this evening?”

“Nothing crazy, Jace is coming over.”

“What?”

“I know, I’m sorry, I should’ve told you sooner. He asked me earlier if he could stay.”

“Ooh,” Magnus’s voice took on an intrigued tone. “Trouble in paradise?”

Alec chuckled. “Something like that. He didn’t give me the details.” Alec took Magnus’s hand and walked with him to the oversized plush couch in the living room. He pulled the warlock down with him and propped his feet onto the table, making Magnus magic his shoes off in frustration. “But,” Alec started again as they settled against each other, “He didn’t say anything when I told him for the umpteenth time how much I don’t care for Clary.”

“Hey, that’s progress,” Magnus said, resting his head against Alec’s shoulder.

“I’ll let you get the full story out of him. You’re better at that kind of thing than me.”

“Do you mean  _ conversations _ ? One of the many things I’ve had time to become well versed in.”

“You are pretty talented in a lot of ways, aren’t you?” Alec asked, his voice dropping as he looked at Magnus. 

“Are you just now figuring that out?”

“Not at all, just letting you know that I know.”

Magnus stroked Alec’s cheek and pulled his face closer to kiss him. “Don’t ever forget it.”

“I won’t,” Alec said, pressing intermittent kisses to Magnus’s lips.

“Mom, Dad, I’m home!” Jace’s voice sounded through the apartment.

Alec sighed and mouthed a silent ‘sorry’ at Magnus just before they were joined on the couch by Jace, the blond jumping over the back of the couch and landing on it hard. 

“If you break my new couch with that kind of tomfoolery you will be grounded for a month,” Magnus said, not entirely joking. 

“What do you mean by ‘grounded’?” Jace asked.

Magnus patted Alec and Jace on the thigh and stood up. “I’ll let you try to figure it out. In the meantime, I’m making food. You two talk or wrestle or whatever it is that you two do to bond.”


	2. tiny blue sparks

October—2 weeks

 

It was exactly two weeks after the not-orange-juice incident that something strange happened to Alec.

It was business as usual at the institute, Alec ran through his meetings and spent time in the office. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until that is, he decided he was parched and reached for his glass of water. A blue electric spark left his fingertips just as he touched the glass and shattered it, bits of glass flying in different directions. He stared in shock as water rushed across his desk, soaking some of the papers he had just laid down. Water spilled onto his lap and he jerked in response, standing quickly.

_Static electricity?_ He thought. He lifted his hand to examine his fingertips which tingled under his gaze. Another jolt of electricity sparked between his index and middle fingers and he jumped in surprise as if he could escape his own hand.

He wasn’t sure what to do. Alec Lightwood usually had a plan for everything, but this was completely out of his territory. He’d never felt so betrayed by his own body, except for maybe that time he had a wet dream about Simon, but no one could control their dreams.

He picked up his phone with the hand that wasn’t glitching and pulled up Magnus’s number. He’d never figured out how speed dial worked and regretted it at times like these, not that he’d ever had a time just like this before.

Just as he was about to call, a wave of nausea came over him like an avalanche. One second it wasn’t there and the next it was crashing into him, urging him to scramble for the trash can that he kept under his desk. Anything he had eaten that day was gone in minutes, leaving him dry heaving as he crouched on the floor, practically completely under his desk. To add to his growing list of concerns, his hands started to feel clammy and his forehead felt damp with sweat. Was it some kind of magical flu?

He finally hit send on his phone, dragging it to his ear as he sat down on the floor and leaned against his desk, pulling the trash can close to him and curling an arm around it protectively.

_“Yes, Alexander?”_ Magnus’s voice washed over Alec like a cool breeze.

“Somethin’s wrong. I need you,” Alec said, panting softly.

_“I’m on my way,”_ Magnus said, staying on the phone with Alec until his portal opened into the office. Magnus paused upon stepping into the room, scanning it for signs of life. “Alec?”

Alec lifted an arm sluggishly and waved. “Over here,” he called.

Magnus rounded the desk a moment later and he let out a soft gasp. “Alexander, what happened?” he asked, sinking to the floor next to Alec.

“I don’t know. My fingers were shooting off sparks, then I puked a lot, now I’m sweating and a little dizzy.”

Magnus cupped Alec’s cheeks and pulled his face up to look at him. “You look awful.”

Alec huffed, “Thanks. Love you, too.”

Water dripping off the desk caught Magnus’s attention. “Why is there water and glass all over your desk?”

Alec waved a hand and wiggled his fingers. “Sparks. Shattered the glass.”

Magnus stared at Alec for a moment, as if contemplating what to do with that information. “Okay then. Let’s get you home before you break a window.” Magnus waved a hand and cleared Alec’s desk of water and debris then helped the younger man to his feet. “We’re not taking the trash can,” he said, taking the pail from Alec’s hold and setting it on the floor.

Alec whimpered pathetically but didn’t argue. “If I throw up going through the portal, that’s on you.”

“That sounds like a threat. Do not throw up on me on purpose.”

Back in their apartment, Magnus helped Alec settle onto the couch, conjuring a cold rag to place on his forehead and glass of water to place on the coffee table.

“I’m going to see if I can figure out the cause of the sparks, if you need anything just yell,” Magnus said, trailing his fingers along Alec’s cheek. The color was coming back to his face now that he was lying down.

Alec placed his hand over Magnus’s and squeezed it. “Thank you.”

Magnus smiled softly and bent down to kiss Alec’s cheek. He stood and then stopped. “Ah, almost forgot.” He snapped his fingers and trash can from the guest bathroom appeared next to the couch. “In case you feel queasy again.”

“You have no idea how much of an understatement ‘queasy’ is for what happened earlier.”

Magnus wrinkled his nose in mild disgust. “I hope I don’t have to find out.”

* * *

But Magnus did find out. Every couple of hours the shadowhunter was pelted with overwhelming nausea, and no remedy that Magnus had given him seemed to stave it off, in fact, in some cases, it made it worse. Eventually, Alec grabbed Magnus and pulled him onto the couch so that he could rest his head on Magnus’s lap, claiming that his voice and touch made him feel better. Who was Magnus to deny Alec that one small request when he was obviously going through it.

Magnus slipped his fingers through Alec’s hair soothingly, earning a soft hum from the sleeping man. Magnus had called a couple of his books over to him, and hovered one in front of him as he read, looking for a cause for the seemingly magical sickness that had taken over Alec.

There was one instance since they were home that he witnessed the blue sparks that Alec spoke of. Bright blue tendrils of light had shot from Alec’s fingertips, and what would look like electricity to anyone else, looked like erratic magic to Magnus’s trained eyes.

Magnus closed the book in front of him with a sigh and waved it away. He looked at Alec’s hands resting on his chest and reached for one. He touched his own fingertips to Alec’s, coaxing the magic to the surface again with his own, the slight tickling sensation making Alec’s fingers twitch.

Guided by Magnus’s magic, the soft blue light crept from Alec’s fingertips as he slept. The magic uncurled, wispy and elegant, nothing like the jagged form it took earlier, and wrapped around Magnus’s fingers. It wasn’t strong, nor was it violent or forceful. It seemed to have a mind of its own. It seemed curious.

Magnus was in awe as he watched the bright blue curls of magic wrap around his hand, turning it over and touching his palm. The fact that Alec was completely unaware that any of this was happening was even more shocking. What could possibly be causing such magic to reside in him like this, and how could it manifest without him controlling it?

Magnus seemed almost apologetic as he guided the magic back to its residence. He could at least rest easy knowing that the magic didn’t seem malevolent, despite how it appeared to be affecting Alec’s body.

* * *

After several days of intermittent nausea, made worse by time spent away from his warlock husband, Alec felt sure that whatever this magical ailment was, it was killing him.

Magnus, however, had started to piece the puzzle together, and as the realization of what could be afflicting Alec dawned on him, an overwhelming confliction of emotions welled up in him.

Alec was probably most definitely pregnant. But how?

Even with the potion, that didn’t explain how a warlock and shadowhunter could create a life. For that to happen, a whole ritual would had to have taken place. Alec would have had to lose his runes, Magnus would’ve had to have given his demonic half full control. All of this in addition to the potion could’ve made it possible...but Magnus, and apparently Alec, didn’t remember anything like that taking place the night after Alec drank the potion...and Magnus was fairly certain he would remember a ritual like that taking place...wouldn’t he?

Magnus was simultaneously terrified for what the pregnancy meant for Alec’s health and wellbeing, excited for the possibilities, and anxious about whatever Alec decides to do going forward.

Which meant that Alec had to be told.

Which meant that someone had to tell him.

And as badly as Magnus wanted to be that someone, he was afraid that his interest in the situation would influence Alec’s feelings on the matter. Meaning that he thought that if Alec thought that he (Magnus) wanted to have a child, Alec would have a child, even if he didn’t want to have a child, because it’s what Magnus wanted and Alec had a gold medal in people pleasing.

So Magnus, wanting to do the right thing, handed the responsibility of breaking the news to Alec over to Catarina. She was a medical professional. She’d done this before. Probably. Maybe not _this_ exactly, but close enough. Right?

Magnus had invited Catarina over to his and Alec’s shared apartment earlier that morning. He had filled her in about what he thought was going on prior to the impromptu home visit, so she came prepared for a full body physical exam.

At Magnus’s insistence, and at Alec’s dismay and confusion, Catarina and Alec sealed themselves in the master bedroom while Magnus paced the living area, a shallow glass of scotch swirling, untouched.

He made sure when he purchased the luxury apartment that every room was soundproofed when the door was closed, and even though he couldn’t hear anything that was being said or done in their bedroom, he could feel the moment that the energy emanating from it changed. It sent a shiver through his spine as he contemplated what part of the conversation caused the shift.

His head swiveled quickly as he heard the bedroom doorknob turn.

“Magnus,” Catarina said, as she stepped out.

“Yes?” Magnus said, taking a hesitant step in her direction.

“He wants to talk to you,” she said, stepping aside. “I’ll see myself out. Call me if you need me.” As they passed by each other, she grabbed his arm and leaned in close to speak quietly. “Brace yourself,” she breathed, giving his arm a squeeze. “He’s not happy with you.”

Magnus nodded solemnly; he had anticipated as much. He thanked her quietly and continued to the bedroom. He didn’t bother to close the door as he stepped inside. Alec was sitting on the edge of the bed, bent over with his elbows on his knees. Alec was looking down and seemingly refused to look up at Magnus’s approach.

“Alexander,” Magnus said softly. He set his glass on a dresser as he stepped into Alec’s space.

Magnus hesitated as he thought about where to position himself. Part of him wanted to kneel before Alec, just to get him to look at him; another part of him wanted to sit beside Alec, to wrap an arm around him and comfort him; and then the last part of him wanted to keep his distance out of fear of Alec’s building reaction.

Without looking up, Alec started, “How could you keep this from me?” His voice was low and filled with barely suppressed rage.

“Darling,” Magnus said, moving forward.

Alec held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t do that. Not right now.”

“Alexander, I didn’t keep it from you.”

“Did you know?” Alec asked pointedly, already knowing the answer.

“...Yes, but—”

“Then why did I hear it from Catarina? Why wouldn’t you tell me that,” Alec choked on his words, “That I’m…” He shook his head dismissively. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because…” Magnus had stood a step or two away from Alec this whole time but finally closed the distance, stepping directly in front of him. He cupped Alec’s cheeks, and when the Nephilim didn’t resist, Magnus tilted Alec’s head up to look at him. “Whatever happens next is your decision. I didn’t want to be the one to tell you because...I didn’t want how I feel to affect how you feel about it.”

Alec sighed and closed his eyes, Magnus’s rings felt cold against his cheeks. “How _do_ you feel about it?” he asked, his eyes still tightly shut.

“I support you, no matter what,” Magnus said.

“That doesn’t help me,” Alec said with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know how I feel about it, Magnus.”

Magnus didn’t know what he had expected, but this should’ve been it. Of course, Alec wouldn’t know what he wants to do yet. The biggest bomb he could’ve ever imagined was just dropped on him, how could Magnus expect him to come to a decision in such little time?

Magnus nodded and stroked Alec’s cheek. “That’s okay, too,” he said, his voice soft and comforting.

Alec leaned forward to press their foreheads together. Magnus tilted his chin up to press his lips to Alec’s gently.

“I’m tired,” Alec mumbled.

“Then you should rest,” Magnus said, rubbing Alec’s cheek with his thumb.

“Lay with me?” Alec asked, his voice hopeful.

“Of course,” Magnus easily conceded. “Anything for you,” he said, placing more meaning behind the words than just his willingness to give Alec anything he asked of him.

Magnus stood and pressed Alec back to lie down on the bed. He removed his dress jacket and pants and circled the bed. Magnus moved behind Alec on the bed, wrapping an arm around the shadowhunter’s waist and pulling him close.


	3. preggie pops

November—3 weeks

 

 

Alec had somehow managed to keep Jace busy with missions and tasks during the time that he was otherwise preoccupied with what was apparently morning sickness. But the time had finally come for his parabatai to barge back into Alec’s day-to-day affairs. Literally. Jace barged into his apartment, stomped his way across the space and flopped down into the seat opposite the couch where Alec laid, tired and motionless, as he stared at Jace with a blase expression.

“Yes?” Alec asked finally. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Jace blurted. “Are you sick? Are you dying? What? What is it?”

“What are you talking about?” Alec said, his voice calm and steady. 

“No, no.” Jace wagged a finger at Alec. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t been around the Institute the past few days. You may have kept me busy, but I know that you haven’t been around. And you didn’t say you were going on vacation, so that leads me to believe that you’ve been here.” Alec started to argue, but Jace cut him off, “ _ Not to mention,  _ I have been getting all kinds of weird emotions from our connection, and they’ve been freaking me out.”

Alec thought for a moment. “If that’s true, then why did it take you so long to come here?”

“You know why. Because I could tell you weren’t in imminent danger... and because this has been my first day off since you’ve gone MIA. So what’s wrong with you?”

They sat in silence for a while, Jace evidently more than willing to wait for Alec to explain. A silent and patient Jace was new, and Alec was kind of enjoying it. 

Alec sat up slowly with a sigh. “I’m not sick or dying. I thought I was, but I’m okay.”

Jace waited for Alec to elaborate. When he didn’t, the blond waved his hands. “And?” Jace asked. “What’s the deal then? Why haven’t you gone to work? What’s with all the conflicting emotion shit?”

“I can’t tell you right now,” Alec said, a little uncomfortable with sharing the truth about his absence. It was an awkward thing for him to say. He had only uttered the ‘p’ word once, and it was only in Magnus’s company. While he had come to accept his condition as an absolute fact, it didn’t make saying it out loud any easier. 

“You can tell me anything,” Jace said, for the first time sounding concerned and sincere. 

“Not this,” Alec said weakly, lifting an arm to rub the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I just can’t bring myself to say it.”

“Does Magnus know?” Jace asked quickly.

Alec nodded. “He does, he’s the one that figured it out. But...Jace, please don’t ask him to tell you what it is. When I’m ready to say it, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Alec…” Jace couldn’t hide his worry from his expression or posture as he leaned forward. Alec could feel the waves of tension and concern coming from their connection. 

“I’m okay,” Alec reiterated. “I just need some time.”

Jace finally nodded, agreeing to Alec’s terms. “You know I’ve always got your back,” he said. “No matter what.”

“I know,” Alec said, a soft smile gracing his features. He could still feel Jace’s anxiety about the matter, but he appreciated that his brother didn’t push him further.

* * *

Sunday morning came just a couple of days after Alec and Jace’s conversation. It was one of the only days of the week that Alec kept sacred--not because of its religious affiliation, but because it was the one day of the week that he could stay home, and more importantly stay in bed, all day, guilt-free. 

This Sunday morning, there was a constant drizzle outside, gray clouds hanging overhead and visible outside of Magnus and Alec’s large bedroom windows. Magnus was propped up against the headboard, a cup of tea in one hand, the fingers of his other hand threading through Alec’s hair. Alec was covered by sheets from the waist down, while his top half was bare and pressed against Magnus’s legs. Alec had his head resting on Magnus’s lap and an arm curled around the warlock’s thighs. He was awake, but he wasn’t bothered enough to move for anything. His tired eyes were trained on the window, watching rivulets of rainwater trail down the glass pane. 

Magnus had not pressed him on the issue of his condition since their initial conversation. He was giving Alec the space and time that he needed to decide for himself what to do. In truth it had taken several days for Alec to firmly wrap his head around what was happening, the truth almost laughable. A male shadowhunter pregnant with a warlock’s child? There were so many things wrong with that sentence that he still, after a solid week of contemplation, could not think of it without sighing in confused frustration. 

“I’m pregnant,” Alec said in such an ordinary tone of voice that Magnus almost didn’t catch it.

When he did realize what was said, Magnus straightened a little. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he stayed silent, his fingers still slipping through Alec’s dark hair. 

“I’m pregnant,” Alec repeated. He buried his face against Magnus’s bare waist and huffed a laugh. “It sounds so ridiculous.”

“Alexander, are you alright?”

Alec paused, his face still pressed to Magnus’s skin. “I guess. You would know better than I do.”

It was true. Magnus was almost constantly checking Alec’s vitals. “Physically, you’re perfection,” Magnus said, his voice full of admiration and love. 

Alec readjusted to rest his head on Magnus’s legs again, his eyes focusing once more on the rain outside. “I think… I think I want to go through with this.”

Magnus didn’t dare to hope that Alec meant what Magnus wanted Alec to mean by that. “Go through with what?” Magnus asked, his voice sounding slightly strained, even to his own ears.

Alec tightened his hold on Magnus. “Don’t make me say it out loud. It sounds so crazy.”

“Nothing you say sounds crazy,” Magnus assured Alec. 

After a long pause, during which Alec figured out how to say what he wanted to say, he finally said, “I think I want to have this...this... baby.”

Magnus forced himself to chuckle softly. “Are you sure? It seems like you can’t even say it.”

“Bear with me, okay,” Alec said, moving to sit up on the bed. He curled his legs in front of him and faced Magnus, the sheets pooled around his hips. “I feel like I’m losing my mind. Never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would utter the words ‘I’m pregnant’ or ‘I’m having a baby.’ It sounds absurd! ...But it’s what’s happening. Real life is crazier than anything I could’ve imagined… But… no matter how crazy it is, I can’t think of a reason to not have it...them… the baby.” 

“Your health—” Magnus started to argue.

“Is fine, you just said so yourself. And if… if it gets worse, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Magnus was really trying to be objective and unbiased, he really was. But he could only bite his lip against a smile for so long before it broke free. 

Tension visibly left Alec’s shoulders and face as Magnus smiled. He felt such an overwhelming wave of relief and reassurance crash into him at Magnus’s expression. “You’re not mad?”

“Do I look mad?” Magnus said, trying to change his expression.

“No! ...I was just making sure.” 

Magnus set his tea to the side and leaned forward, slipping his arms around Alec’s waist and pulling him into a kiss. “I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Magnus murmured into the kiss. 

Alec smiled against the other’s lips, then pulled back when the familiar tingling feeling in his fingers returned. He looked down between them, blue light flickering at his fingertips. It had been days since the last time the magic made its appearance, so Alec was a little surprised to see it. 

“May I?” Magnus said, causing Alec to look at him in confusion. 

“May you what?”

Magnus didn’t speak in reply, instead taking Alec’s wrist in one hand and moving his other hand to touch their fingertips together. Alec watched as Magnus lightly touched his fingers, the feathery feeling giving him shivers. As Magnus pulled his hand away, the blue light followed, wrapping around Magnus’s fingers in a way that Alec hadn’t seen it do before. 

“How—?” Alec started. He couldn’t finish. He didn’t know what to say. 

“I did this the first day your symptoms started, while you were sleeping. I didn’t show you before because… I didn’t want it to affect your decision.”

“This again…” Alec said with a roll of his eyes.

“I know, I know,” Magnus said, fully aware of his transgressions. “I believe this magic was born from mine, so it lets me guide it...That’s the best I can come up with anyway.”

Alec eyed an old brown book on Magnus’s nightstand, an ancient foreign language written on the cover of it. “Is that what you’ve been researching?”

“Among other things…” Magnus said, following Alec’s gaze to the book. He waved a hand and it disappeared. “I was preparing for a lot of possibilities. Speaking of which, I think I have a solution for your...morning sickness.” He knew how Alec felt about the term.

“That is such a stupid name for it. It is literally all day sickness.”

“I know, darling,” Magnus said. He reached into his bedside table drawer and pulled out a narrow white paper bag. 

Alec tilted his head as he looked at it. “What is it?”

Magnus opened the bag and pulled out a small round tin, the picture of a heavily pregnant woman on the lid. 

Alec’s face screwed up in disgust as he read the name, “Preggie Pops?”

“Now, Alexander, listen,” Magnus said. “They’re a mundane solution to morning sickness. They have several stars in the Amazon, so I figure they were worth a shot.”

Alec sneered at the tin. “I’m going to pass.”

Magnus shrugged. “Alright. I’ll put them in my drawer over here, just in case you change your mind.”

* * *

Alec went back to work the next day on his regular schedule. He had spent just over a week briefly appearing for meetings and dodging other responsibilities before leaving again. His absence had been noted by almost every shadowhunter in the Institute as every one of them came up to him at some point or another to inquire about his health. In all honesty, he still didn’t feel great and the longer he went without Magnus around him the more uneasy he felt. He had determined that it was a feeling he was going to have to get used to, since he couldn’t justify chaining the warlock to him for nine months...or whatever the duration of his symptoms may be. 

Speaking of which, he didn’t know much about pregnancy, but he had never heard of partner-dependent morning sickness in anyone else. He had never felt so clingy before and it was killing him to admit how much he needed Magnus’s physical touch, even to himself.

He had realized after his discussion with Magnus that he had a lot of planning to do over the next couple of months. One thing, in particular, he had to take care of was getting his work affairs in order. Whether he liked it or not, growing a child inside his body meant that changes were coming, and he certainly didn’t feel like showcasing the phenomenon for every shadowhunter in Manhattan to gawk at. And so, a long term leave of absence was in the works. He figured he still had a couple of months to get all the details sorted out, such as what lie he would use to cover up his leave, but it never hurt to start preparing early. 

Alec was on his way to a meeting with team leaders when his phone rang. He fished it out of his jacket pocket and barely glanced at the screen before answering. “Hello?”

_ “How are you feeling?” _ Magnus’s voice filtered through the line. 

“I’ve been better,” Alec said, slowing his pace. 

_ “I thought you might say something like that. Check the pockets of your pants, _ ” Magnus said.

Alec did as he was told and reached into his pockets, the crinkling of a candy wrapper sounding from the side of one of his legs. He sighed. “Magnus,” he scolded. “I told you I didn’t want these,” Alec said, pulling out one of the Preggie Pop candies. 

_ “Just try one _ ,” Magnus insisted.  _ “I cloaked them for you so no one will think anything of it.” _

Alec sighed again and unwrapped the candy, the wrapper now appearing as a generic candy wrapper, rather than one specifically for morning sickness. “That was sweet of you, thank you,” Alec said softly. He popped the candy into his mouth and scrunched his face at the initial taste. “It’s so sour.”

_ “It’s good for you.” _

“Thanks,” Alec said again. “I have to go now. I’ll call you later?”

_ “You don’t have to do that,” _ Magnus said lightly.  _ “I was just checking on you. But do call if you need me.” _

“I will,” Alec agreed. He kicked at the ground lightly. “I love you,” he said quietly. 

Magnus breathed a laugh on the other side of the line.  _ “I love you, too.” _

They hung up and Alec continued on to his meeting, greeting Jace at the door to the briefing room. 

“Welcome back,” Jace said, clapping Alec on the back as he passed him. 

“Thanks,” Alec smiled.

Jace eyed the wrapper in Alec’s hand before Alec could hide it and held out a hand. 

“What?” Alec asked, looking at Jace’s outstretched hand.

“Give me one. Sharing is caring,” Jace said with a grin.

Alec smirked and reached into his pocket, tossing Jace one of the candies. “It sure is.”


	4. Valencian oranges

November—6 weeks

 

 

Alec liked working out. He liked staying fit, active, ready to go on a mission at a moment’s notice. But at Magnus’s loving insistence, Alec had given up the vigorous workouts that he loved so much. That, coupled with Magnus cooking better food more often, was taking a swift and serious toll on Alec’s otherwise athletic build. He didn’t know that muscle definition could fade so quickly. 

Magnus found him pinching the small accumulation of fat on his abdomen as he sat on the bed in front of the mirror more than once already. In the week that he had noticed it, it had become Alec’s ritual upon waking up or after a shower to just sit and look at himself in the mirror and grab and roll around the actual  _ minimal _ amount of loose skin. 

“Stop that,” Magnus would call from the doorway. “You’re gorgeous.” 

Alec didn’t think that any amount of compliments from Magnus would make him feel better about his appearance in his lifetime, but since they had been together, Alec had learned to accept the compliments, and even, sometimes, agree. 

“Yeah, I’m not too bad I guess,” Alec said on one such occasion, catching Magnus off guard. 

“Well, look who finally opened his eyes,” Magnus said, swaggering into the room. Alec’s hair was slicked back and dripping water down his chest and back from his shower. His skin was extra warm to the touch, Magnus noted, as he rested his hands on Alec’s shoulders. It could’ve been because of the shower or because he was pregnant. It could’ve been a combination of the two or any other reason. Magnus loved how Alec’s skin felt these days, softer, ever so slightly more plush. Don’t misunderstand, he loved when Alec was toned and his skin rough from shadowhunter gear and healed wounds, but the softness was addicting. 

“All of your runes are fading,” Magnus noted, touching Alec’s neck where his deflect rune was a light shade of red. Soon it would be pink, then lighter pink, then white. 

“What do you expect?” Alec asked with a smile. “I haven’t used any of them lately.” He lifted a hand to grab Magnus’s wrist, turning his head to kiss the inner side of it. 

“We both know you’re still getting use out of a couple of them,” Magnus smirked, his other hand sliding down Alec’s back to where his flexibility rune stained his skin, still dark. His stamina rune was equally dark on his bicep. A couple of other runes were darker shades of red, but would fade in time. “How do you feel?”

“I’m good,” Alec said sincerely. “Nothing unusual to report. Though I did have the  _ weirdest _ and  _ grossest _ dream last night.” He shivered for effect. 

“A nightmare?” Magnus asked, frowning. 

“Not in the horror sense of the word, just the thoroughly uncomfortable sense.”

“I can make you something for that,” Magnus offered. 

Alec waved a hand dismissively. “No need. It’s fine.” 

“Okay,” Magnus smiled softly and leaned down to peck Alec’s lips. “If you say so.” He stepped to the side and grabbed a shirt that Alec had laid out and tossed it at the other man. “Now put some clothes on before you make me lose my religion.”

“What religion?” Alec said, smiling as he pulled the shirt over his head. 

Magnus conjured a glass of juice and held it out to Alec. At Alec’s raised brow he explained, “Orange juice.”

“Is it—”

“From Valencia? Yes, diva. It’s Valencian. I know what you like,” Magnus smirked.

Alec took the glass and rolled his eyes. “You know you don’t have to get it  _ from _ Valencia everytime.”

“Oh yes I do,” Magnus confirmed. “The way you told me how much you wanted a Valencian orange last week told me that no other orange was good enough for you. And seeing as how getting this is a lot easier than some of the other requests you’ve made of me in the past, I’m happy to do it.” 

Alec felt a warm rush of love wash over him. Despite the low-ish blow about him asking Magnus to do hard tasks all the time, he still knew Magnus would do anything for him. And the fact that Magnus had so very quickly caught on to how much he was craving oranges from Mediterranean Spain and had continuously been procuring them for him ever since made Alec’s heart swell. 

“Thank you,” Alec said, a little surprised at how his own voice sounded to his ears.

“Are you… about to cry?” Magnus asked, far more surprise showing on his features.

“What? No!” Alec said, covering his face with his free hand. “Go away... I love you. But go away.”

Magnus breathed a laugh. “Alright, alright.” He kissed Alec’s cheek then moved away. “You’re going in today right?”

“Yeah,” Alec said, moving his hand away. The rims of his eyes were red, but he had willed away the tears. Fucking hormones. “I’m trying to secure the plan.”

“The escape plan?” Magnus mused, lingering at the door.

“Yeah,” Alec chuckled. 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m thoroughly excited to get to have you to myself for several months.”

“You would be,” Alec said, standing to find pants. “I am, too,” he added. 

* * *

Alec had been quietly minding his own business in his office, tediously reading through reports, when the redhead’s vampire friend had come in and sat across from him, shockingly not speaking until Alec turned his head and acknowledged his presence.

“Yes?” Alec asked, annoyance always a little present in his voice when dealing with Simon. 

“So, this is going to sound weird, but,” Simon paused, wondering if he should actually say out loud what he was thinking. 

Alec waited. Then decided waiting was boring. “Spit it out.”

“You smell different,” Simon said quickly, Alec’s words urging him forward. 

“I...smell different?” Alec asked, contemplating the words. “Okay. Get out.”

“Wait!” Simon said. “I know, I know, it’s a weird thing to say. But like… something’s off about you. Are you okay?”

Alec’s face was set in a bored expression, which belied his inner panic at possibly being discovered by Simon before he had even told his closest family and friends. “I’m fine. Get out.”

“Alright man,” Simon stood. “I was just making sure. If you ever need anything, I’m here.”

“Yeah, why are you here?” Alec asked. He half hated how cruel he was to the generally good natured vampire. But at the same time, guilt by association and all that.

“Oh, Jace started training me to fight,” Simon smiled.

_ He what? _ Alec wanted to say. Flashbacks to his weird pregnancy dream flashed in his head. He waved a hand in a “Shoo” motion and Simon nodded and left the room with a cheerful “See ya!” Jace had replaced him as his sparring partner with  _ Simon _ . Another shadowhunter, cool. But Simon? Come on.  

And what the hell was that bloodsucker even talking about, saying he smelled different? What a weirdo. 

Moving past the conversation, Alec reached for his almost-empty glass of water, he had some hesitance ever since the shattering incident nearly a month earlier. His fingers grazed the cool glass and he watched in wonder as, instead of the cup exploding, water started to slowly fill it. It was slow at first, then fast, then almost overflowing before he jerked his hand away. The water immediately stopped rising and he looked down at his abdomen. 

“Is that you?” Alec asked out loud. If anyone had been in the room with him, they would’ve have most definitely thought he was losing his mind. Except for maybe Magnus. Magnus would get that he was talking to their unborn child and somehow not judge him for it. 

He reached for the cup again, picking it up and taking a long sip of the water. He was pleasantly surprised to also note the chilled temperature of the drink and gulped down more of it. Just before he sat it down, he watched as the water started to refill again. 

“I’m good now,” he said, just to see if it would stop. And, again to his surprise, it did. He sat back in his chair and looked between the glass and his stomach. “Mag-- I mean, I guess I should say your other dad is going to freak out about this,” he near-whispered. That was the first time he had referred to Magnus as the ‘other dad.’ It felt so strange to say out loud, but in a good way that made Alec smile to himself. 

* * *

The sun was setting as Magnus, in nothing more than silk pants and an open robe, stepped out onto the terrace of his and Alec’s apartment to feed the stray cats that gathered there. He was never entirely sure how they managed to get up that high, but he didn’t question it too much. As long as they were friendly, they could always crash on his balcony. He filled each of the several bowls that were scattered around the area with a wave of his hand. 

He felt something brush against his bare ankle and looked down, smiling and swooping down to scoop up Chairman Meow.  He didn’t feel the eyes that were watching him from behind, he didn’t notice that the small cat had led someone right to him. 

“Hey beautiful,” a familiar deep voice called from the doorway. 

Had it been any other voice, Magnus would’ve whirled around in full defensive mode. Then again, if it had been anyone else, Magnus would’ve known they were coming from a mile away. All of his defenses were lowered for Alec. 

He slowly turned, swaying in a dancelike-manner as he did. “Hello, my angel,” he said, looking at Alec who was leaning against the doorway, his ankles and arms crossed in a comfortable pose. 

Alec glanced at the open front of Magnus’s robe and frowned. “What are you doing out here?”

“You know, just feeding the kids,” Magnus said, gesturing to the cats. 

Alec scoffed and smiled. “You know,” he started, taking a step out onto the terrace, his arms falling to his sides, his hands hooking into the pockets of his dress slacks. “I thought about something today.”

Magnus set Chairman Meow on a lounge chair and moved toward Alec, his bare feet padding on cool tiles. They met at the railing, one of Alec’s arms draping over it as he angled his body to face the other man. Magnus mirrored his pose but slipped his free arm around Alec’s waist. “What was it?” 

“I called you the other dad today,” Alec said. “It was the first time I did that. It felt weird to say it, it kind of stuck to my tongue, but once I said it it felt right, you know? Obviously, it should, it’s the truth, but it was just such a surprising thought.”

Magnus tried to hold back a teasing smile. “You’ve only just now thought about that?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, I know that you’re the other parent, but… I hadn’t thought of either of us as parents, as  _ dads _ until… well, until now I guess. It’s crazy. You don’t think so?”

“Alexander, darling, we’re more than a month into this… I’ve had some time to adjust to it,” Magnus said, implying that he had already thought about it at some point prior. 

“More than a month?” Alec said, his eyes going wide with shock. 

Magnus couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t tell me you didn’t realize that either.”

“No, I hadn’t...wow I’ve really lost track of time. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long at all,” Alec said, turning his head to look out at the cityscape. 

“Well, lucky you, I’m keeping track,” Magnus said. “I thought you were, too, since you’re making all the plans for work.” 

Alec hummed and turned to face Magnus more fully, the arm around his waist squeezing him. They locked eyes and stared at each other for a moment before Alec broke the gaze and leaned forward to kiss Magnus. He slipped a hand behind the warlock’s neck and squeezed gently, pulling back before the kiss could deepen. 

“There was something else,” Alec said softly, “that I wanted to tell you...Or maybe show you.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow in question. 

Alec stepped away to grab an empty bowl from the ground then returned to Magnus’s side. He set the bowl on the railing then took a breath. Magnus watched quietly as Alec seemed to have an internal pep talk with himself, the look of determination not unfamiliar to Magnus. Alec lifted a hand after a moment and gently touched the bowl. Instantly, pale white liquid began to fill the bowl from the bottom, up. Magnus couldn’t hold back a gasp as he watched. 

“How—?” Magnus questioned. 

Alec pulled his hand away from the bowl and the milk stopped forming. “I don’t know, it started today with a glass of water.”

Magnus grabbed Alec’s hand and a burst of blue light wrapped around his hand and wrist in delicate spirals. 

“Look at you, Sparky,” Magnus said, his voice full of wonder. 

“Sparky?” Alec said, humor in his voice.

“A nickname,” Magnus said sheepishly. “For the blue sparks from before… but now… this magic is much more refined, and in such a short period of time. It’s incredible. Do you feel it?”

“Not as much anymore, actually,” Alec said, a little bit of disappointment heard in his voice. 

“Here,” Magnus said, grabbing Alec’s other hand and transferring the feeling through an empathetic link. 

A feeling of refreshment seemed to wash over Alec instantly. “Wow,” he said, staring at their interlocked fingers, “it’s never felt like that to me before.” 

“It’s never felt like that before, period,” Magnus said. 

Alec was looking at Magnus now, who was still staring between them at the ribbons of blue magic. “Is it bad?”

Magnus looked up. “Does it feel bad?”

“No, not at all,” Alec assured him. 

“Good,” Magnus said, stroking Alec’s palm with his fingertips. The blue light receded back into Alec. “Think of it as our magical child saying hello.”

Alec’s gaze went a little dreamy at that point, a happy grin playing at the corner of his lips. “Say that again,” he said. 

“Which part?”

“The ‘our magical child’ part,” Alec said.

Magnus moved closer and placed his hands back at Alec’s sides. “That’s our magical child,” he said, kissing the corner of Alec’s lips. “They are gentle, and calm, and curious. And they’re letting you know that they are doing alright.”

Alec bit his lip against a wider smile and ducked his head. “Fuck, that’s so cute.”

“Come on,” Magnus said with a chuckle, “You’ve had an exciting day. Let’s get you and baby fed and then off to rest.” Magnus slipped his arm around Alec again and herded him toward the door to the apartment.

“Hey,” Alec said as they walked. “I think… I think I’m ready to tell Jace about all of this…”

“Just Jace?”

“I promised him I’d tell him first. He was worried about me in the beginning.”

“Does that mean you’re finally feeling good about this?” Magnus asked.

“I’ve always felt good about it,” Alec said thoughtfully. “Now I’m just feeling better about it. And if it’s okay with you, I’d like to have some fun with telling him. Now that…  _ Sparky _ has new tricks, I think I want to incorporate it into telling him.”

“So you want to scare him shitless too?”

“Something like that,” Alec grinned.

Magnus laughed and nodded. “I’m game. Operation Break the News to Jace is a go.”

Alec stopped them both in the hallway just before the kitchen and pulled Magnus into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he breathed. “For everything. For all that you do for me. Thank you.”

Magnus returned the hug after recovering from his moment of surprise. “There’s nothing to thank me for,” he said quietly. “We’re in this together, my angel. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” After another comfortable moment they pulled away from each other. Magnus continued, “Which is why I went to Japan earlier and grabbed some of the Wagyu beef you loved so much.”

“I feel like you’re trying to make me cry,” Alec said with a groan. “You’re the real angel here.”

“Remember that you said that eight months from now,” Magnus said, giving Alec’s butt a light squeeze and a pat. 


	5. operation break the news to Jace

December—2 months (ish)

 

 

Jace knew something was up with Alec. They were parabatai, literally connected at the hip, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etcetera. So for Alec to hide something from him for so long meant that it was big. Add in that the dark haired man had cancelled all sparring practice indefinitely and Jace was more than a little concerned. But he bided his time; he knew Alec would crack eventually, he just had to be patient. And finally, after a month and a half of waiting, Alec finally asked him to come over to his place in a tone that very clearly, to Jace anyway, said: “I’m going to tell you everything.” ...Whatever tone that may be.

Jace had tried to conceal his eagerness when he accepted the invitation and had arrived a little after the time that Alec told him to be there, fashionably late and all that. 

Now he was sitting in a lounge chair across from Alec on the couch, manspreading and trying his best to look nonchalant. 

“Do you know why I called you here?” Alec asked as Magnus rounded the couch and sat next to him. 

“Not really,” Jace said. 

Alec huffed. “Liar.” The elder man spared a look at the warlock next to him before looking back at Jace. “What I’m going to tell you is going to seem...unbelievable. But you have to believe me. It’s taken me this long to work up the nerve to tell you, so you know it’s a big deal to me, right?”

Jace’s face was set into a serious frown as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. He nodded. “Yeah, I know. You can tell me anything,” he said, his voice rough with sincerity. 

Alec dipped his head. “I know I can. Jace...there’s no easy way to say this, but… I have powers now.”

That was it. That was all Alec said. Jace waited for more and tilted his head in confusion like a puppy when he didn’t get anything else. “What do you mean?” he finally asked. “What kind of powers?”

“Well...they’re kind of like warlock powers,” Alec said. “I can’t explain it, but…you don’t believe me.” 

“What? I didn’t say that?” Jace said defensively. “I’m just confused. You don’t know how it happened?” 

Alec shook his head. Magnus procured a drinking glass from thin air and set it on the coffee table between the couch and Jace. Alec gave him a thankful look and scooted forward on his seat until he was on the edge. “Just watch,” he said, reaching a hand out to touch the cup. 

Jace wasn’t sure what he expected to happen, but whatever it was, he was disappointed as literally, nothing changed. He continued to watch expectantly as Alec withdrew his hand and looked at it with a frown. 

“Why didn’t that work?” he seemed to ask no one in particular.

“Alec,” Jace started. “What’s this really all about?”

Alec and Magnus ignored Jace’s question, the two of them turning to each other. Magnus grabbed Alec’s hand gently with one hand as the other stroked Alec’s side. The warlock murmured something to Alec that Jace couldn’t quite make out, though it sounded a lot like ‘You can do it, baby.’ It was an adorable exchange, but Jace wasn’t sure if he should be worried about both of their mental capacities. And that was saying something coming from Jace. 

Magnus released Alec’s hand after a moment and Alec took a deep breath. The next moment he snapped his long calloused fingers and a blue orb of light formed just above his pointed fingertips. Jace leaned forward more despite himself as he gasped in wonder. 

“How did you—?” And then the ball of light was hurtling towards him and all he could do in response was jerk and fall back in his chair, the magic striking him in his chest painlessly. “What the fuck, Alec?” Jace exclaimed, jumping out of the seat after his initial shock wore off. 

Alec had been watching him ever since the magic ball had formed and was stifling a laugh at not only Jace’s reaction but his new appearance as well. Magnus was not so kind, an obnoxious snort leaving his throat before he erupted in laughter. 

Jace stood across from them, appall written all over his face at how they were cracking up after what had happened. “Have you two completely lost it?”

“I’m sorry,” Alec said, stretching his mouth out to keep from smiling too much. “It’s just… your hair, I’m sorry.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?” Jace said, rushing around the couch to a nearby decorative mirror. He blanched in true horror as he set eyes on his reflection: his usual blond hair had been replaced with midnight blue streaked with hot pink. He looked like a Good Charlotte member circa 2001 and he was on the verge of screaming about it before he heard another snap and his hair faded back to gold. 

Jace whipped around and pinned the laughing pair with a glare. “Explain, now,” he demanded, stalking back to his seat. 

Alec licked his smiling lips and leaned back against the couch. “Calm down, it was a joke,” he said.

“A joke?” Jace repeated. “I’ve been so worried about you all this time and you finally let me believe that you’re going to tell me what’s been going on and you want to joke about it?”

Alec visibly sobered at that, straightening his posture and his smile slipping away. “You’re right,” he said, grabbing Magnus’s hand and pulling it closer to his side. “Jace, no jokes, I’m pregnant.”

Again, that’s all Alec offered. Jace stared at his parabatai. The words that Alec just spoke were more shocking than the magic trick, not because he believed them or didn’t believe them, but just the fact that straightlaced Alec said the words ‘I’m pregnant’ were really blowing Jace’s mind. “You’re…”

“Pregnant.” Alec supplied.

“Are you serious?” Jace asked quickly.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“My husband is a warlock who can literally see inside my body, yes, we’re sure.”

“How?” Jace’s eyes were trained on Alec’s midsection now in morbid curiosity. 

“Fertility potion gone awry,” Magnus said. “Well, I guess not really awry, it worked like a charm despite not being finished.”

“Wait, now I’m confused,” Jace said, holding up a hand. “Were you trying for this?”

Alec let out a crude laugh. “No, not at all. This was purely accidental.”

“And the magic?” Jace asked.

“A side effect,” Alec said thoughtfully.

Magnus hummed in disagreement. “More like...a loan. A magical loan.”

At Jace’s further confused look, Alec continued, “From the baby.”

“A magical loan from the baby,” Jace said, his voice quieter than usual. 

“Yes,” Magnus said. 

“How long have you… since… How far along…” Jace didn’t have a clue what to say anymore. 

“It’s about two months now,” Alec said. 

“ _ Two months, _ ” Jace repeated in awe. 

“Yes,” Magnus said, “They’re about the size of a jelly bean now.”

“Really?” Alec asked. 

Magnus nodded with a small smile. 

Jace looked between them. Alec hadn’t lied, it  _ was _ unbelievable, but there was a lot that was undeniable too. Like the fact that Alec had created and used magic, for one. But then there was the way that Magnus’s hand had lingered on Alec’s stomach when Alec was trying to perform the magic, and the way that Alec’s hand rested there now, almost protectively.

Jace hummed. “I’m not going to lie, I still don’t really understand, but I believe you. And more importantly,” he slapped both of his legs before standing up, “I love you both, and if you’re happy, then I’m happy for you,” he said. 

Alec and Magnus had turned their heads to look at him when he started speaking and now both were smiling up at him. Alec stood up as well and moved around the coffee table. They simultaneously pulled the other into a tight hug, their arms locking around each other in a familiar embrace. “Thank you,” Alec said, giving Jace a squeeze. 

“Hey,” Jace said, pulling back enough to look Alec in the eye. “If you need  _ anything, _ tell me. I’d give my life for you, and that extends to my niece or nephew, too.” He pressed their foreheads together. 

“Hopefully that won’t be necessary,” Alec said, his eyes starting to water. “Dammit,” he cursed and lifted a hand to rub at his eyes. 

Jace was more than a little shocked to see  _ Alec Lightwood in tears _ . He grew up with the man and had only seen the phenomenon a handful of times. “You okay there, buddy?” he asked with a grin. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” Alec almost flinched whenever Jace brushed a runaway tear from his cheek. 

Jace turned to Magnus, giving Alec a moment to calm down. “Get over here, old man,” Jace said, holding his arms out to the warlock. 

Magnus scoffed but moved to Jace anyway. They hugged in a way that they hadn’t before. It was amazing to Magnus, the love that Jace and Alec had for each other, and how that love extended to him. To be part of this family, and to be bringing a new life into it, was more than Magnus could’ve ever imagined for himself. Magnus could already imagine the kind of doting uncle that Jace was going to be to their unborn child and it warmed him to his ancient core.

“How about a drink?” Magnus asked Jace. 

“Yeah, I’d love one,” Jace replied. 

“I hope you’re staying for dinner,” Magnus said as he moved to the bar cart in the corner of the room. 

“Or just stay the night,” Alec said, clapping a hand on Jace’s back. 

“Only if you’re sure,” Jace said. 

“We’re sure,” Alec and Magnus said together. 

“Oh, and don’t tell Izzy or anyone else about this, okay?” Alec said. “You’re the only one that knows, though Simon keeps freaking me out with weird sixth sense comments.”

Jace laughed as he accepted a drink from Magnus. “I won’t tell a soul.”

 


	6. lub-dub lub-dub

January—3 months (ish)

 

 

Jace made it a point to be more present in the Lightwood-Bane household after being told the big news; he spent the night in one of their spare rooms more often than he spent the night at the institute. It was comforting for Alec, having two of the people that completed him so close all the time, but it was also frustrating because he never had a moment alone. Such was the case when Catarina dropped by to check on Alec at his three-month mark. 

Alec was propped up against a pile of pillows on his and Magnus’s bed, shirtless and with an arm bent behind his head. Compared to when he was standing, laying down made the recent roundness of his stomach look much smaller. Jace was hovering just inside the door and Magnus was sitting beside him. When Catarina had arrived she dropped a large tote on the floor of their bedroom and proceeded to pull out and set up several pieces of equipment next to their bed. She was ‘a modern day, blue skinned Mary Poppins,’ Magnus had mused--the reference completely lost on the sheltered shadowhunters.  

Now she was sliding a gelled wand over his abdomen and Magnus was arguing with her about the merits of modern medicine versus traditional magic techniques for abnormal pregnancies. Magnus was losing the argument, as Catarina had the knowledge of both on her side. 

Jace was watching anxiously from his part of the room, his concern was rippling through his and Alec’s connection like actual physical waves, each one lapping at Alec’s own nerves. 

Meanwhile, the patient was quietly trying to block everyone and everything out. He closed his eyes and let them fade out of focus for a few minutes. 

He was brought out of his daze by what sounded like a repetitive creaking noise. “What’s that noise?” he mumbled, a little irritably. When no one answered, he opened his eyes. Everyone had their eyes on him. 

The sound was coming from one of Catarina’s instruments, a monitor with a black screen. He could see white shapes coming through the black, but otherwise, he couldn’t tell what he was looking at. At the bottom of the screen, white lines were jumping up and down in zigzags, in time with the creaking noise, but it still took him a moment for his tired brain to put the two together. 

“Is that the heartbeat?” he asked quickly. 

Catarina smiled softly and nodded. “It is.”

Alec didn’t know what to say as he watched and listened to the heartbeat of his child. “It sounds good,” he choked. 

“It sure does,” Catarina agreed. “A nice, strong beat.”

Alec felt Magnus slip a hand under his and he slapped at it. “Why didn’t you let me hear this before?” Alec asked Magnus, something close to betrayal in his voice. If he wasn’t so awestruck and happy, it would’ve sounded a lot more like betrayal. 

“I haven’t even listened!” Magnus protested. “I wanted to hear it for the first time with you.” He grabbed Alec’s hand this time, not giving him the opportunity to slap him again. Alec forgot what he wanted to fight about and curled his fingers around Magnus’s palm. 

Alec’s eyes flicked across the room as Jace moved, Alec saw that he was wiping his face with a shirt sleeve. 

“Are you okay, Jace?” he asked, his voice carrying the amusement he felt at not being the only emotional one.

“Yeah, I’m good. It’s just so beautiful.” 

Alec almost laughed. He looked back to Catarina and at the monitor. He couldn’t really see anything on the monitor. He knew that one of those shapes was the very tiny life that was growing inside of him, but he supposed he wasn’t creative enough to make the shape look like a person. But the heartbeat didn’t need creativity. Sure, it sounded nothing like when you press your ear to someone’s chest, but the steady beat was unmistakable. 

“Is there…” Alec started. He trailed off at the loss of how to phrase what he wanted to ask. He wanted to keep that sound with him forever, the sound of a life that he and Magnus created,  nevermind that the actual creation of said life was still somewhat of a mystery. “Is there a way to ...keep that?

Catarina smiled. “There is, though Magnus can help you listen to it anytime.”

Alec shook his head slightly. “I want something permanent. A keepsake.” 

Before Catarina could respond, Magnus waved a hand to cut her off. “I can do that,” he said. “And it will sound better than anything that garbage technology can produce.”

Catarina side-eyed Magnus but didn’t respond. “Alec, moving forward, are you going to want to know the sex of the baby in advance? It’s too early to know now, but it may be possible at the next checkup.”

Alec hesitated and worried his lip. “I don’t think I want to know. I’m going to love them regardless, so… It doesn’t really matter.”

“Alright, good to know. I would hate to spoil the surprise for you~” Catarina said with a smile. “Though I don’t know how Magnus will be able to stand it.”

“Oh, I can just look if I want to know,” Magnus said dismissively. 

“No, I want it to be a surprise for both of us.” Alec frowned. 

“But...I don’t want a surprise…”

“Well it won’t be fair if you know and I don’t know.”

“But you don’t  _ want _ to know. I do.”

“If you find out before I do then I will forbid you from ever looking inside of me again,” Alec said firmly. He mostly meant it.

Catarina watched the back and forth for a moment then started packing things up. “Well, that’s it. Check up complete.”

Alec turned his attention back to her. “Really? That’s all?” he asked.

“You seem healthy, the baby seems healthy. Not to mention I know that Magnus is monitoring you daily, so...My job here is done...For now.” She directed her attention to Magnus. “If anything changes, I expect you to tell me immediately.”

“Of course,” Magnus said, ghosting a hand over Alec’s abdomen to clean it of gel. Alec spared him a look of gratitude. “Thank you for coming, even though we could’ve done without all of the mundane machinery cluttering up the place.”

“You’re welcome,” Catarina said pointedly as her instruments started cascading elegantly into her bag. “I’ll come back in a month, assuming I don’t hear from you before then.”

Alec nodded and watched as Magnus crawled over him and escorted Catarina out. 

Jace stepped to the edge of the bed, almost hesitantly. “So,” he started. “When are you going to tell other people?”

Alec closed his eyes and groaned as he let his head drop back onto the pile of pillows beneath him. “I’d been trying not to think about it.” 

“I understand,” Jace said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s just, you’re starting to show a little and it won’t be long before you take your leave at the Institute, so...I was just wondering if you’d made any plans to tell Izzy or mom or anyone else.”

“Izzy and Mom are the only other people I’m going to tell,” Alec said. “No one else needs to know. After I take my leave, no one else is going to know what’s happening.”

“You’re really not going to tell  _ anyone _ else?”

“Too many people know already. It’s not safe… Imagine if the clave found out about this. Imagine what they would say, what they would  _ do _ if they knew a male shadowhunter somehow got knocked up by a warlock, and not just any warlock, but a warlock who’s father is a greater demon. They would be screaming conspiracy and paranoia from the rooftops.” Alec’s hands were starting to wave around as he talked. “Then they would come after us, not just me, not just Magnus, but you, Izzy, Mom, anyone who knows anything. They’d probably execute Magnus, probably experiment on me, probably kill the baby either in the process or after everything…” Alec had said so much in one breath that he had to gasp for air, his eyes a little wild with anxiety about potential outcomes of telling other people. 

He hadn’t even noticed when Magnus had come back in the room and shoved Jace aside until warm hands and the cool metal of rings touched his cheeks, forcing him to look at Magnus’s face. “ _ Alexander _ , none of that will happen,” Magnus said. “ _ None _ of it.”

“But it could,” Alec said, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“It won’t,” Magnus said firmly. “I won’t let it.”

“Neither will I,” Jace said. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”

Alec bit his lip against further argument. He wanted to say that they wouldn’t have to ‘let’ it happen, it would happen with or without their permission. But he didn’t. He wanted to believe that they wouldn’t let anything happen to him or his unborn child while he was unable to do any protecting of his own. And then it occurred to him that he’d never felt so vulnerable before.

“Maybe I shouldn’t tell Izzy and Mom,” Alec said after a moment of silence. “The fewer people who know, the better.”

“Are you kidding?” Magnus said. “Maryse would kill both of us for keeping her out of the loop.”

“Izzy would too,” Jace chimed in. “Especially if she found out that I knew and she didn’t.” 

“Hn,” Alec said, appearing in lost in thought. “I guess you have a point.”

Magnus leaned forward to kiss Alec’s forehead. He trailed his lips down to the tip of Alec’s nose and then gently pressed them to Alec’s lips. “Try not to worry so much about the future,” Magnus said. “We’ll handle everything that comes our way, together.”

Alec offered a small smile in response.

* * * 

Alec swallowed nervously as he met his mother’s stern gaze. They were sitting across from each other in his and Magnus’s living room, Maryse and Isabelle sitting on the couch while he sat in an armchair. Jace was perched on the edge of the other armchair, and Magnus was delivering drinks to everyone, adding a dancey flair as he moved around the room. When he finally settled at Alec’s side and sat on the arm of the chair, Alec cleared his throat softly. 

“I’m sorry to call you guys here like this,” Alec said, his voice cracking a little from his nerves. His mother and sister didn’t interrupt him and waited for him to speak again. “We--Magnus and I--we have some news for the two of you. I’m not sure how you’re going to take it, but, Mom especially, if coming out to you was a shock, this one might be too much.”

“Nonsense,” Maryse said. “I know it hasn’t been that long, but I like to think I’m not the same mother that I was then. Whatever you have to say, I support you.”

Alec took a deep breath, both relieved at Maryse’s words and doubtful that she could really handle the bomb he was about to drop on her. He started to speak again but the words got caught in his throat. 

“May I?” Magnus said, placing a hand on Alec’s shoulder. Alec nodded, the tension that was eating him alive lessening instantly. He trained his eyes on Isabelle instead of his mother as Magnus spoke. “Alec and I are expecting a baby.”

Isabelle’s face lit up in happy surprise. “What?! That’s so exciting!”

At almost the same time, Maryse said, “That’s wonderful! Why wouldn’t I be happy about that?”

They were both smiling, almost mirrored images of each other with their hands clasped before them. 

Alec nudged Magnus. “Tell them.”

Isabelle and Maryse’s smiles faded some. 

“Alright,” Magnus said, “Perhaps that was a little misleading. Maryse. Isabelle. Alec is pregnant.” Looks of confusion graced the women’s features. “Before you can ask how,” Magnus started again, knowing what was coming from when they told Jace, “There was a magical mishap, and we’re not exactly sure of the mechanics of how it happened, but… it did.” He grabbed one of Alec’s hands and held it between both of his. “We need your support with this, Alec especially, so we hope that you can be understanding with this.”

Maryse closed her slightly gaping mouth and cleared her throat. “I see,” she said. She stood from the couch and moved around the table that was between them. Alec moved to stand as she approached him and was surprised when she pulled him into tight embrace. Hugs from his mother were exhilarating in their rareness. A hand on the back of his head forced him to rest his head on her shoulder. “Alec,” Maryse said, her voice close to his ear. “You have my support, and my love. I’ll help you in any way that I can.” She pulled back enough to look at him and kissed his cheek. 

He couldn’t help but return the warm smile that she was offering him. Never, not in a million years, would he have ever dreamed of this conversation, let alone of his mother giving her blessing on the matter and offering her love and support. It was really incredible to him how much she had changed since her life fell to pieces and all she had was her children. 

Maryse stepped back and Alec was somewhat startled to see Isabelle standing right beside them. He hadn’t even noticed her approach. 

She said nothing at first, just wrapped her arms around him in an impossibly tight hug. “Izzy,” he grunted after a moment. “Loosen up, would you?”

She laughed a little and complied. “I’m so happy for you, big brother!” She looked up at him with a loving smile. “Wait, is this why you stopped training with Jace?”

“Yes,” Alec said. “It’s also why I’ll be temporarily stepping down from being head of the Institute in the next couple of weeks.”

Isabelle’s face showed her shock and renewed confusion. 

“I’m starting to show,” Alec said helplessly. “I can’t hide it forever, and it’s not safe for other people to know about it. Only the people in this room and Catarina know, and I want to keep it that way.” Alec chose to ignore the fact that Simon probably knew because of his weird vampire senses, but strangely part of him trusted Simon to keep it to himself. 

Isabelle nodded in understanding, then frowned. “How far along are you now?”

“Somewhere between three and four months,” Alec said. 

She glanced at Jace then pointed at him. “And how long has he known?”

“Uhh,” Alec said, not wanting to answer. “Not long.”

“Liar!” She slapped Alec on the arm. 

“I promised to tell him first, I’m sorry,” Alec said defensively, rubbing his arm. 

“I got a magic show out of it,” Jace said, fully pleased with himself.

“You almost peed yourself,” Magnus reminded Jace.

“Oh, here we go,” Jace said, rolling his eyes.

Maryse directed a raised eyebrow at Alec. “Magic show?”

Rather than replying, Alec looked down at his abdomen, focusing his attention inward. He rubbed a hand over his stomach and lifted the other. With a flick of his wrist, familiar blue tendrils seemed to emerge from his fingertips. “It’s the baby’s magic,” he said. “We think… It scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I’ve got a little control over it now.”

“He really doesn’t,” Magnus said, his tone light and teasing. “But we’re working on it.” 

* * *

Maryse sat on the couch next to her son, her legs curled under her as she twisted to face him, an arm curled around his shoulders, making Alec look smaller than he actually was. He leaned against her comfortably as she ran fingers through his hair.

Jace and Isabelle had stayed for dinner but were already gone and Magnus was in their bedroom. Alec and Maryse had been sitting together like they were for a while now, her asking questions about his pregnancy and him quietly, often embarrassedly answering them. 

For much of Alec’s life, Maryse had forgone nurturing and comforting, with the exception of the occasional singing at night. He always knew she loved him and his siblings, she was always very clear about that, but the love had gone from tough and hard won to gentle and caring. She showed affection towards him now that she never had in the past, and he was one-hundred percent okay with that. 

“I’m very proud of you,” Maryse said quietly. 

Alec huffed. “For what?”

Maryse gently stroked his cheek and gently turned his face to look at her. She waited until his eyes locked with hers and she offered a small, loving smile. “My beautiful boy, you have no idea how incredible you are, how strong and fearless you are.” He started to protest but she cut him off, “I’m not just talking about going through with this pregnancy, even though that takes so much courage. I’m talking about your whole life. You work so hard and you do so much for everyone around you.” Alec was blushing as she continued. “I’m very proud of you,” she repeated. “You’re finally doing something for yourself. Nothing makes me happier than seeing you and your siblings happy, but I always worried that you never would be, because you were always worried about everyone else.” 

“What’s making you say all of this?” Alec asked, his voice shaking with emotion.

“I’m saying it now because I’ve never said it before, and I want you to know.” She dropped the hand at his cheek to his stomach. “Do me a favor, Alec, don’t make the same mistakes that I did when it’s your turn.”

“Mom… I never doubted your love for me,” Alec said sincerely, feeling like he should reassure Maryse that she hadn’t been all bad.

“It wouldn’t have hurt for me to show it more though,” she said. “I promise I’ll do better as a grandmother.”

Alec smiled at that. Imagining his mother as a doting grandmother was something he couldn’t wait to see for himself. “They’re going to love you,” he said, “Although, you’re going to carry the weight of being the only grandparent.”

“Eh,” She shrugged, “I think I can handle it. I’ve fought tougher battles than that and won.”

They both shifted as they heard padded footsteps coming toward them. Alec smiled lazily as a barefooted Magnus stepped into his line of sight. Magnus put his hands on his hips with a huff and shook his head, his untied robe falling open to reveal his bare chest and waist. 

“What?” Alec asked innocently. He knew ‘what’ though. 

“You were supposed to come to bed an hour ago,” Magnus said. 

“That was my fault,” Maryse said, helping Alec sit up straight. “Sorry about that.”

“I suppose I can forgive you this time,” Magnus said, helping her stand up with an offered hand. 

“Do you mind making a portal for me?” Maryse said, grabbing her coat and scarf from the back of a nearby chair. 

“Of course not,” Magnus said with a smile. He almost froze as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. He was still getting used to Affectionate Maryse. He set to open the portal as she leaned over Alec to kiss him as well. 

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said. 

“You don’t have to do that,” Alec said.

She smiled in reply, and repeated, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Alec shook his head with a smile. “I’ll answer.”

“Good boy,” she said. “I love you both. Goodnight~!” She stepped through the portal and into her living room on the other side. 

Magnus closed the portal and brushed his hands together as if to dust them off, then turned to Alec, who looked at him with tired, glassy eyes and a soft smile. 

Magnus chuckled and reached out both hands to Alec. “You look so tired and cute,” he said as Alec grasped his hands. Magnus pulled the shadowhunter to his feet and wrapped his arms around him, their faces barely an inch apart. “Let’s get you to bed, hm?”

“I’d like that,” Alec whispered. He let Magnus lead him to their room, an arm around his waist gently guiding him. Magnus helped Alec undress and removed his own layers before they both crawled into bed. They both laid on their sides, facing each other with arms curled around the other’s back. 

Magnus grazed his nails over Alec’s back lazily. “Did you have a good chat with your mother?” Magnus asked quietly. 

“Mhm,” Alec said, burrowing closer to Magnus. “I’m sorry for making you wait.”

“No need to apologize,” Magnus said with a soft smile. 

“You’re right.” Alec leaned in and kissed Magnus’s parted lips, pulling a soft hum from the warlock. “I’ll make it up to you in the morning,” Alec teased.

“My, my, Alexander, how bold you’ve grown,” Magnus said, unable to hide his eager grin. “I love it as much as I love your bashful side.”

“I hope you love everything about me,” Alec said with a yawn right in Magnus’s face. He stretched against the other man and tightened his arm around him. “Since you’re stuck with me forever.”

Magnus laughed softly and kissed Alec’s cheek. “Not to worry, I love everything about you, and will love everything about you forever.”


	7. aggressive snoogle cuddling

March—5 months (ish)

 

 

The day that Alec officially went on leave from the Institute, Jace had shown up at the apartment with a “farewell gift,” a big, white, curvy pillow that he called a “snoogle.” The previous month, Catarina had informed them that what was supposed to be a pear sized baby was a papaya sized baby and Alec should probably stop sleeping on his back sooner rather than later. Evidently Alec had complained one time about not sleeping well and his hips hurting, and Jace took it upon himself to solve that problem. Every night after that, Alec curled the pillow around him at night and dozed off in a matter of minutes, leaving Magnus to fend for himself, which usually meant stretching an arm and a long leg over the pillow to get to Alec—

Magnus had never hated an inanimate object more. He felt an extra dose of loathing for the pillow every time Alec moaned into it about how Jace was the best parabatai. 

He was going to light it on fire the first chance he got. 

But for now he would settle for hiding it in random places around the apartment in hopes that Alec wouldn’t notice it was gone. 

Unfortunately, even whenever Magnus thoroughly tired Alec out, the shadowhunter would still remember that the stupid pillow was missing. 

“Magnus,” Alec whined, “Please get it for me. And stop hiding it in the first place!” 

Magnus didn’t budge. He was curled around Alec, much like the pillow would be, his hand gliding over Alec’s rounded stomach. Every now and then he would feel a bump against his hand, making him smile and press against Alec’s stomach in that spot each time. “I don’t want to,” he grumbled against Alec’s shoulder. “I’m playing with the baby.”

Alec reached behind him to lightly shove at Magnus. “Go, you’re too hot.”

“You’ve never complained about that before,” the pout was clear in Magnus’s voice. 

“I’ve never been five months pregnant before either,” Alec said. He huffed and twisted to lay on his back, just so he could get a good look at Magnus. “Please go get my pillow.”

“I just want to cuddle with my husband,” Magnus said, not letting up on his grip on Alec.

“I get that, I do, but I’m so uncomfortable at night and the pillow really helps.”

“I can help,” Magnus offered. “I’m magical, I can do anything.”

“You can get my pillow.”

Magnus groaned and rolled away from Alec, summoning the pillow from its hiding place in the oven. 

“I promise I will cuddle with you excessively as soon as this baby is out of me,” Alec said, getting situated with the snoogle.

“Uh huh.” Magnus fluffed his own pillow. “You’re going to have to. Because I’m going to incinerate that thing as soon as you give birth.”

Alec looked positively offended and clutched the pillow to him. “You wouldn’t.”

“I absolutely will. Its days left on earth are numbered.”

The next day when Catarina came for Alec’s monthly checkup, Magnus walked into the bedroom to see Alec folding the snoogle into a spiral at the head of the bed. At Magnus’s questioning look, Alec sat on the bed and leaned against the spiral. “It’s multipurpose,” Alec said with a smile. 

“You can do that with regular pillows, too” Magnus said, climbing onto the bed and sitting cross legged next to Alec.

Maryse had asked to join for this checkup and came in to sit at the end of the bed as Catarina set up. 

“Now, now, Magnus,” Catarina said, helping Alec remove his shirt, revealing his rounded stomach to the room and causing a faint blush to coat his cheeks. “If it helps him, then you should be happy that he has it.” Before Magnus could reply she turned back to Alec. “Is anyone else coming, or can we get started?”

“Jace is on mission, so he won’t be coming this time,” Alec explained. It was the first appointment Jace was missing and Alec wasn’t sure if it was weirder that Jace had been part of every big event of this pregnancy so far or that Jace was absent at this one.

Catarina hummed and placed the cool, gelled tip of the of ultrasound wand to Alec’s abdomen. “Let’s see how baby is doing today,” She said, filling the silence as she searched on the screen for the baby. Alec chose this time to zone out as he usually did at these appointments. He could hear the other three oohing and aahing about different things, their voices somehow distant as he withdrew into himself. He still didn’t see anything spectacular on the monitor, or at least, he hadn’t last time. The heartbeat was still incredible to him, but even that was losing its novelty. 

More than anything, these appointments gave him a slight feeling of dread, and an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. Every time Catarina or Magnus mentioned how big the baby was, it reminded Alec that he was going to have to give birth eventually, that he was going to have to take care of a small child, who, by the way, was very likely to be a warlock with more power in its tiny pinky finger than Alec had in his whole body. How could he protect a baby that was probably stronger than him? 

He felt a hand grab his, stealing his attention away from his inner turmoil. He looked at Magnus questioningly, the warlock offering him a small, comforting smile. 

“Everything looks good here,” Catarina said. “Two months in a row of rapid growth, though. Not that that is unusual for warlock children. Expect the growth to slow down at some point and then pick up again toward the end.”

“I could’ve told you that,” Magnus replied flippantly, playing with Alec’s fingers. 

“I’m sure,” Catarina nodded and glided a hand through the air, pushing her equipment away from the bed. 

“I have a question,” Maryse said. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now, but wasn’t sure if I should ask…The birth…”

Alec groaned inwardly. 

“What? You haven’t told me,” Maryse said at her son’s response. “I’m just not clear on ...how that’s going to happen.”

“Alec’s is an extremely unique case,” Catarina said. “A first for me, though I’m not sure if he’s the first ever…”

“A first for me as well, and I’m ancient,” Magnus added.

“That said, I feel the safest way to proceed is with a Cesarean section.”

Alec shivered. He hated thinking about that part of the future. He, Magnus and Catarina had discussed it a couple of times before, and he had, for the most part, come to terms with it, but the fighter in him didn’t like the idea of just laying down and letting someone cut him open. 

“Are you equipped for that?” Maryse asked, not even batting an eyelash.

“I will be when the time comes,” Catarina assured her. “Magnus and I have planned to convert one of the extra rooms here into a temporary operation room, that way Alec won’t have to travel far. In the time between now and the scheduled birth, we, Magnus and I, will monitor Alec’s progress, and if problems arise before the scheduled time, we’ll take care of it.” 

“Meaning you’ll go ahead and operate?” Maryse asked.

Catarina nodded. “Hopefully, if that happens it will be after the baby is viable and fully formed and there will be no complications, but Magnus and I have discussed it and Alec’s health and wellbeing is our priority.”

Alec looked sharply between the two warlocks. “ _ What? _ ”

Magnus had been watching Alec while Catarina spoke. “I agree,” Maryse said.

“ _ What?” _ Alec repeated. “I disagree!”

“Alexander,” Magnus said, “We’re going to do everything we can to ensure the safety of both of you, but your life is the priority.”

Alec stared hard at Magnus, his jaw set in anger. “How can you say that?”

“What? That your life means more to me? Because I can’t live without you. I’ve tried it and I never want to do it again.”

“You sound so selfish right now,” Alec said, his eyes were welling with tears, though he couldn’t tell if it was anger or disappointment that was causing the waterworks more. 

“So be it,” Magnus said. 

“Alec,” Maryse chimed in, moving closer to her son. “It’s a worst-case scenario, and it likely won’t be an issue.”

Alec looked between Magnus and his mother, taking deep, fuming breaths to calm down. He snatched his hand away from Magnus’s and swung his legs off the bed. “Are we done here?” he asked, but didn’t wait for a reply as he stood and walked directly to the adjoining bathroom, shutting the door behind him with a resounding bang. 

* * *

Magnus sent everyone home and gave Alec some time to cool down. He knew an argument was coming the next time he faced Alec, but he also knew that his opinion on the matter would not change. 

That didn’t mean that he felt any better about Alec holing up in their bathroom, especially since there wasn’t a soft surface in there for him to rest on. That thought gnawed at Magnus’s resolve until he was pressed to check on the shadowhunter. 

His footsteps were light and quick as he made his way to the en suite bathroom from where he had been making dinner in the kitchen. 

He rapped his knuckles against the opaque glass of the bathroom door and called out gently, “Alexander?”

He received no verbal response but did see a shadow shift beyond the door. 

“Alexander, I know you can hear me, open up. Everyone is gone, it’s just you and me.”

Still no reply. 

“I know you’re uncomfortable in there. Come out and rest on the bed, I’ll leave you alone.” Magnus sighed and waited a moment. “At least say something so I know you’re alright--”

He heard a mumble from inside the bathroom.

“What was that?” Magnus pressed his ear to the door. 

“I’m stuck!” Alec yelled, his voice edged with anger and frustration. 

Magnus quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. Alec was sitting in the bathtub, a towel wrapped around his shoulders to shield him from the cold porcelain. Magnus forgot he’d been shirtless when he stormed off. 

“Are you just going to stand there?” Alec practically spat, the whites of his eyes red and wet, his lips full and dark. 

“I would,” Magnus started, “But I have dinner going, so maybe I should get back to that.” He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the kitchen. 

Alec flung a hand out at Magnus, beckoning him over. 

“A please would be nice,” Magnus said, not moving toward Alec. If they were playing the “who’s pride will wear off first” game under normal circumstances, neither would’ve won, outside intervention would be necessary, but under these circumstances, with Alec looking absolutely pitiful and Magnus feeling weak about it, neither of them stood a chance. 

Magnus’s ice melted when he saw Alec’s face crumple as he ducked his head. Magnus groaned as he moved to kneel next to the tub. He hated it when he couldn’t stay mad.

He cupped Alec’s cheeks and brought his face up to kiss his forehead. “Come on, don’t cry.”

Alec halfheartedly tried to knock Magnus away. “Why? You don’t care.”

“We both know that’s a lie,” Magnus said calmly. “This whole fight is because I care. Too much. About you.”

Alec glowered at Magnus. He started to argue again but Magnus pressed a finger against his lips.

The warlock stood suddenly and held out his hands to Alec. “Get up, let’s talk about this somewhere more comfortable.”

Any argument Alec had left at the mention of getting up from the tub prison. He hadn’t realized how royally he fucked up until he was already sitting down and after that it was a waiting game until Magnus came to him. He stretched his arms out to Magnus, but rather than the warlock grabbing his hands and pulling him up, Magnus leaned over and hooked his arms around him, hauling him to his feet in one motion.

Magnus helped him step out and pulled the towel away from him. 

“Does your butt hurt?” Magnus asked, his voice both playful and concerned. 

“Yes, a lot,” Alec said.

“Are you cold?” 

Alec nodded. 

Magnus slipped an arm around his waist and tugged him toward the door, leading him back into their bedroom and to the bed. Alec sat gingerly on the edge, his ass cheeks feeling like they were filled with pins and needles. Magnus handed him his shirt from earlier and uncurled his snoogle from the head of the bed. 

“Go ahead and lie down for a bit, dinner will be ready soon. We can talk then if you want,” Magnus said, brushing the hair off of Alec’s forehead and smoothing it back. Alec leaned into the touch despite his earlier rage. All that was wearing off now and he almost forgot why he was mad to begin with. Almost. Magnus wasn’t that lucky. Alec did, however, grab Magnus by the front of his shirt and pull him down and into a chaste kiss. 

“I’m still mad at you,” Alec said quietly. 

“I figured,” Magnus smirked. “But you won’t be forever.”

Alec huffed. Magnus was probably right about that. Forever was a long time. But for right now, he was going to hold onto the anger while he took a nap. His snoogle was in for aggressive cuddles. 

After his nap and dinner, Alec laid sprawled across the couch, half propped up by throw pillows. Magnus was sitting at the other end of the couch, one of Alec’s feet in hand as he rubbed it. Alec’s own hands were rubbing circles on his outstretched stomach, which was even more swollen after eating Magnus’s spite/apology meal. 

“I don’t get it,” Alec finally said. “I don’t understand how you could just put my life before theirs.”

Magnus thought for a moment before responding. “I hope that the choice doesn’t have to be made at all.”

“But you’ve already made the choice.”

“Alexander, you act as though it was easy for me to do so. It would be incredibly painful for me to lose either of you, but you…” Magnus parted Alec’s legs so he could move onto his knees between them. He leaned over Alec, bracing his hand against the arm of the couch so he could look down at Alec. Alec gasped as he looked up, Magnus’s glowing green cat eyes bright with emotion. “I have lived centuries without you, without the love I feel for you, and I… I would break if I lost you, especially when I could do something about it.” Magnus couldn’t bear the thought of losing Alec or the baby, so he wouldn’t. He would die before he let anything happen to either of them. 

“But still,” Alec breathed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Magnus cut him off, shaking his head. “Nothing is going to happen to you or the baby.”

“Something could,” Alec warned.

“It won’t. That plan was plan Z. Plans A through Y all have nothing bad happening to either of you.”

“I hope you’re right,” Alec said, lifting his arms to wrap around Magnus’s shoulders. 

“I am. I know I am,” Magnus said confidently. 

Alec smiled softly, his first smile since the appointment, and Magnus took that as his cue to lean down and steal a long, drawn out kiss. Now as long as Jace didn’t come waltzing in, Magnus had every intention of having long, drawn out makeup sex too.


	8. bacon and grapes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, I suck at action scenes, I apologize in advance

June—8 months (ish)

 

 

Month seven was not kind to Alec at all: he was 95% sure that he was carrying a full-sized watermelon in his stomach and not a baby of any variety, even though both hovering warlocks told him otherwise; he had to pee every twenty minutes, without fail, even in the middle of the night; and he had to have at least one motorized fan pointed at him at all times or else he felt like his face was melting off in the summer heat. And then there was the problem of weird pregnancy dreams that kept attacking his precious sleep, which was his current issue. Month eight wasn’t looking too great either.

Only clad in boxers, he dragged himself out of bed and to the bathroom to piss, something he had started sitting down for at some point for aiming purposes, then washed his hands and shuffled to the kitchen, noting the empty bed on his way through the bedroom. 

It was around 6AM, so he figured he may as well start the day. He guessed Magnus had the same idea as he was rewarded with the sight of his mostly naked (save for a loosely tied silk robe) warlock moving around the kitchen. Alec took a seat at the bar, climbing into the seat being more of a challenge than he wished to admit. 

“Bad dream?” Magnus asked with a sympathetic smile, placing a steaming cup of coffee in front of Alec. 

“Jace and Simon making out in my office,” Alec explained, taking a sip of the coffee and scrunching his nose in disgust. “Fuck decaf.” He said it every time he had a cup of coffee during this pregnancy, so this was the...200th time? Magnus just shook his head with a laugh, though it wasn’t clear if it was at the dream or Alec’s continued hatred for decaf coffee.

“You’re so interesting Alexander. You can tell that coffee is decaf from one sip, but you can’t tell that something isn’t orange juice from smell alone.”

“Oh, no comment on the dream then?”

“What is there to say?” Magnus shrugged as he plated a literal pile of almost burnt bacon. “There’s tension there. Ooh! Maybe you’re getting prophetic powers.”

Alec held up a hand to cease the conversation. “Stop. No.” His eyes glittered happily as Magnus set the plate in front of him and stole a less cooked piece off the top.

“Want anything else?” Magnus asked.

“...” Alec bit his lip as he thought. “Syrup? Do we have any grapes?”

Magnus pointed a finger at the empty fruit bowl across the bar and a cluster of grapes appeared. “We sure do.” He moved to grab the bowl and set it in front of Alec, then reached into a nearby cabinet for the syrup. He didn’t question if it was for the bacon or the grapes, though he had hopes about which was one was going to be doused. 

Alec eyed Magnus suspiciously as he set the woman-shaped bottle down on the countertop. “You’re being extra accommodating today. What’s up with you?”

Magnus sighed and took a sip of clear liquid from a nearby glass. Alec had already put a small dent in the pile of bacon. It made Magnus feel a little bit better knowing that Alec was at least not going to storm out of the room on an empty stomach whenever he inevitably ruined his day in the next few minutes. “I received a message late last night, after you already went to bed. I’ve been summoned to the Spiral Labyrinth. I’m supposed to be there no later than noon today.”

Alec mulled over Magnus’s words as he chewed on an extra crunchy bite. “Okay? And?”

Magnus blinked. That was not a reaction he was expecting. “Well, you know that time works a little differently there. I’m… not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

Realization dawned on Alec immediately, but to his credit, he continued to shove a couple of grapes in his mouth. “But, this is crunch time,” Alec said, his face drawn in concern more than anything. 

“I know,” Magnus said. “And if it were anyone else, I’d ignore it. But you know that the Spiral Labyrinth is… hard to ignore.”

Alec heard a door open down the hall and both of them were soon met with a sleep-rumpled Jace, squinting through tired eyes and his blonde hair askew around his face. He’d probably only had a couple of hours of sleep after patrol. “Hey guys,” he mumbled, pulling himself onto a stool next to Alec and taking a piece of bacon. Alec frowned, remnants of the disturbing dream coming back to him. He wanted to slap the bacon out of his filthy Simon-groping hands. 

“I told you-you didn’t have to be up for this,” Magnus said with a sigh. Jace shrugged as if to say ‘too late’ and Magnus turned back to Alec. “I’ve already told Jace and he’s going to stay with you twenty-four seven until I get back.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Alec said. “What if you’re gone too long? What if you lose track of time and miss the birth?”

“No, that won’t happen,” Magnus shook his head. “We have Seelie rings we can use, or fire messages, either way, I’m not going to be totally unreachable.”

“Just mostly unreachable,” Alec said. He planted his elbows on the counter and buried his face in his hands. “Why now? What do they even want?”

“They didn’t say, they can be very cryptic when they want to be.” He reached across the bar and rubbed Alec’s arm. “You’re taking this much better than I thought you would…”

“Yeah, well, it was hard enough getting into this chair, I’m not ready to get out of it, and the bacon is really good—” Alec leaned back in his seat, hooking an arm under his rounded stomach. 

“Not really,” Jace interjected, earning a glare from Alec. He mouthed a defensive ‘what?’ back. 

“—and I’m trying not to be mad at you because I know it’s not your fault.” He noticed Jace staring at his stomach. He followed Jace’s gaze down to his stomach and saw something move beneath his skin. He was mostly used to feeling and looking like an alien was living inside of him, but it seemed to still freak Jace out. Alec was always highly amused by his parabatai’s reaction to seeing the baby push against his stomach. 

“I’m going to apologize anyway because I really don’t want to leave you,” Magnus said, rounding the bar and moving next to Alec. 

“I know…” Alec nodded. “But I also know how the Spiral Labyrinth can be, like you said, so...I know you have to go.”

“Did we just not have a fight about this?” Magnus asked in genuine wonder and surprise, wrapping his arms around Alec’s shoulders from the side. 

Alec huffed and wiggled uncomfortably from the added body heat but didn’t push Magnus away. “Get the Seelie rings. We can fight while you’re gone.”

“Okay.” Magnus smiled softly and pecked Alec’s cheek. “Finish your breakfast. And you,” he moved away from Alec and grabbed Jace by his upper arm, pulling him off the chair. “Go back to bed. You’re no use to me tired. I need you alert, vigilant. Don’t make me find another bodyguard.”

“As if you could,” Jace grumbled. “I’ll be up in a few more hours,” he directed at Alec. “I’ve already told Aline I’m not coming in for a while too. Told her it was about you. She okayed it.”

Magnus moved to occupy the seat that Jace had abandoned and wrapped his legs around one of Alec’s. Alec tolerated the minimal touching better than the hug and continued eating what was left of his bacon and grapes. Magnus was happy to note that the syrup had been for the meat and not for the fruit. 

They sat like that in comfortable silence until Magnus noticed Alec squirm. 

“What is it?”

“Stupid bladder,” Alec replied bitterly. 

Magnus held back a laugh and stood up to help Alec off his stool. Alec felt Magnus’s eyes follow him toward their bedroom. He stopped and looked at the warlock who was very obviously focused on his ass and legs. “Hey, don’t go getting any ideas unless you’re gonna do that spell that makes the room cold again.”

Magnus recognized the opportunity for what it was and pulled out his best seductive voice, “Baby, I can make it like an arctic tundra.”

Alec visibly shivered in anticipation at the thought. “Give me five. And get the rings!”

Magnus laughed at how well the line worked and nodded in agreement. 

* * *

Magnus was barely gone, but Alec was already missing him. It didn’t help that Jace was not awake yet and the apartment was eerily quiet. Alec decided that he deserved to be clingy at a time like this and made his way to the bedroom where Magnus had put on his half of the telepathic ring pair and left Alec’s on the nightstand.

The problem with that plan was that when he stepped to the nightstand, the ring was gone. He moved the sparse objects on the table around and looked on the floor around the table, making sure the ring wasn’t covered up or that it hadn’t fallen.

“Looking for this?” An unfamiliar voice said from behind him. He spun on his heels, his eyes settling on a beautiful person with faint green filigrees decorating their exposed patches of skin leaning against the doorframe, the ring held firmly between their thin fingers. Their long, dark hair gave way to pointed ears, and their glittering lips were upturned in an arrogant smirk. 

“How did you get in here?” Alec breathed. He was trying very hard not to panic, but his current hormone imbalance was not helping him accomplish that. He could actively feel his adrenaline increasing.

“I had some help from a friend,” the Seelie waved a hand toward the other room. Alec could see another person; they were tall with curled horns, their warlock mark, framing their face, and they were snooping around the living area. The Seelie's eyes scanned Alec’s body then lit up with apparent pleasure. “So the whispers are true~ Magnus Bane’s shadowhunter boy toy is pregnant. How positively scandalous!” The Seelie pocketed the ring with a smug smile. “I bet a lot of people would pay any price to get their hands on you, even the clave.”

“What do you want?” Alec spat, his arms wrapped around his midsection protectively. 

“I don’t want anything. My queen, however… You know she’s a collector of oddities, and you, Lightwood, are about as odd as they get.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Maybe not  _ willingly _ . Eliot!” The Seelie snapped their fingers and the wandering warlock immediately came to the room, his manner of walking graceful and fluid. 

Besides the large horns on either side of his head, the warlock looked like a young man, dark curls fell around his face neatly, almost as if intended to accentuate the horns. Somehow they worked for him. 

He, Eliot, did nothing at first, but the Seelie's patience didn’t last long. “ _ Well _ ? Do something.”

“Like what exactly?” He drawled, as if bored with the whole situation. 

“Just knock him out!”

If Alec hadn’t been heavily pregnant he would’ve used this moment of distraction to figure out an escape plan or how to fight back. As it was, all he could do was think about the safety of his unborn child and how pissed he was that Magnus left him there alone.

“I don’t want to hurt him,” the warlock said. No matter how young the warlock may be, he had to have been powerful enough to take down Magnus’s wards. Alec bet that he didn’t know how powerful he was and was grateful that the man didn’t want to hurt him. 

“He’s a shadowhunter, he can handle it.”

The warlock seemed to accept that after a moment of thought and lifted his hands, a ball of energy forming between them before he directed it at Alec. Alec had nowhere to go, and even if he did, he didn’t have any of the dexterity or grace that he normally did to pull off an evasion maneuver. Instead, he quickly turned his body and braced for impact, not uncrossing his arms as he crouched into a defensive ball. The impact never came, however, a loud crash sounding toward the door seconds later, making Alec turn his head to look at the cause. All around him he saw the residual blue glow of a magic shield, the barrier of which had reflected the warlock’s attack back at the pair. 

He heard quick steps on hardwood down the hall, Jace appearing a moment later on the other side of the door with a seraph blade in hand. He took a survey of the room and the groaning figures on the floor near the door and directed a confused look at his parabatai. 

“Alec! Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Alec replied, his voice shaking. “I don’t know what just happened.”

“Did you tell Magnus?”

“Can’t, they have the ring,” Alec pointed at the Seelie who was moving back to their feet. 

“You’re not getting it back either,” the Seelie growled, moving into a defensive pose. “This is the property of the Seelie Court.” 

Alec was still kneeling on the floor, unable to pull himself up, even if he wanted to. The blue glow was gone now, but Alec stayed distracted thinking about it. 

“We’ll see about that,” Jace replied in his usual cocky fashion, rushing at the Seelie. A staff appeared in the Seelie's hand and they brought it up to block the strike of Jace’s blade. Alec had never felt so useless in a fight, and as he sat on the floor watching the struggle between the two he was overcome with shame as hot tears hit his cheeks. He couldn’t wipe them away fast enough as they just kept coming. 

The warlock started to stir with the commotion happening around them and when he saw Alec frozen like a sitting duck, he lifted a hand and hurled an angry red ball of fire at shadowhunter, a sheen of blue protective magic coming up suddenly to block the attack and hurl the ball of energy elsewhere. Alec managed to yell at Jace to look out in time for the blond to evade the ricocheted magic. 

Eliot redirected their attention to the fighting, and Alec could see the intent in his actions as he pulled his hand back to summon more magic. It occurred to him suddenly that he wasn’t entirely defenseless and he scrambled to turn around and quickly dig under the mattress for a hidden blade. As soon as his fingers made purchase with the cold metal, he grabbed it, hissing at the feel of the blade cutting his fingers, and pulled it out. With barely a second thought, Alec flung the blade at the warlock’s head. Lack of practice in the previous months showed as the blade missed its mark, piercing the warlock’s shoulder instead, making Alec and the warlock curse under their breath. 

Fortunately, it was enough to distract Eliot and gave Jace the opportunity to get the upper hand in the fight with the Seelie, as he knocked the fae to the ground and held his blade at their throat, their staff skidding across the floor on impact. 

“I did not sign up for this,” the warlock said, gripping his bleeding arm. As Alec staggered to his feet with the support of the bed, he thought that Eliot was probably promised a quick fight with minimal effort on his part. He doubted that neither of them expected Jace to be around, or for Alec to have deflection magic on his side.

Jace dug in the Seelie's pockets with his free hand, finding the ring and tossing it to Alec. “Tell Magnus to get his ass back here now.”

Alec caught the ring and slipped it on. He was instantly assaulted with the near-frantic voice of Magnus in his thoughts. 

>> _ Alexander, tell me you’re okay. Why don’t you have the ring on?  _ Please _ be okay…  _

>> _ Magnus.  _

Alec’s message instantly quieted Magnus. 

>> _ Are you alright? _

_ >>Been better. We need you back. Now. _

_ >>I’m trying to portal but I’m being blocked.  _

“Hey, you,” Alec pointed his bloody hand at the warlock. “Drop whatever ward you put up.”

Eliot did as he was told, albeit reluctantly as he had to move both arms to do so. 

Moments later the unmistakable sound of the heels of Magnus’s boots came toward the bedroom. Alec visibly relaxed at the sight of his husband, a quick rush of air leaving his lips. He snatched the Seelie ring off and tossed it at the prone figure beneath Jace. 

Magnus immediately encircled the two intruders with magic bindings, causing the warlock to hiss as one pressed against his wounded shoulder. Magnus stepped to Eliot and yanked the protruding knife out of his arm, making the other warlock curse loudly. 

“Does someone want to tell me what the  _ fuck _ is going on here?” Magnus finally said, waving at the destruction of his typically lavish bedroom. He directed his attention back at the young warlock. “You, I don’t know you. Who are you?”

“El-Eliot. This wasn’t my idea,” he quickly explained. “I owed a debt.”

“We’ll come back to that. What  _ was _ the idea? Hm?”

Eliot hesitated. “The Seelies wanted Lightwood. I was told to take down the wards and portal us here.”

“And get rid of me?” Magnus asked, already anticipating the answer. He was never summoned to the Spiral Labyrinth, but only a warlock could have sent for him. 

Eliot nodded. 

“And you?” Magnus said, kicking the Seelie. “Anything to add?”

The Seelie's lips were firmly sealed and set in an angry snarl. Jace snatched the fae up and forced them to stand. 

Magnus grabbed the Seelie by their hair and yanked it back. “Give your queen a message for me. If she ever sends someone after my family again, I’ll raze Ferngully to the ground.” Magnus created a portal and shoved the fae toward it. “Oh, and the warlock’s debts are paid up.”

Jace delivered a kick to the Seelie's backside, forcing them to stumble forward through the portal which instantly closed behind them.

Magnus turned back to the other warlock who was watching the previous exchange with a wide-eyed expression. “I get that you were forced into this, but the same applies to you. If you come after anyone I care about, I’ll end you... Also, I don’t know how you got my wards down and put up such powerful counter wards so quickly, but… I’m willing to give you the opportunity to explain.”

“I’d like that opportunity,” Eliot said, his voice quiet compared to Magnus’s fierce booming. 

“I’ll send an invitation,” Magnus said, beckoning for Jace. “Get rid of him.”

“As in kill him?” Jace asked.

“Were you even listening?” Magnus sighed. Eliot looked positively terrified. “Just kick him out of the apartment. Go.”

“Ohh,” Jace nodded and grabbed Eliot, dragging him from the room. 

Magnus ‘tsk’d as he surveyed the damage done to the room. He had been so worried when he couldn’t contact Alec or get back to him, but now—

“Magnus?” Alec said softly.

Magnus turned on his heel and, not for the first time, laid his eyes on Alec, the younger man slumped against the bed now. He breathed Alec’s name and hurried to him. 

“Are you hurt? What’s wrong? Alexander, you’re bleeding!” Magnus grabbed the wrist of Alec’s injured hand. 

Alec patiently let Magnus heal his hand then grabbed the front of Magnus’s shirt. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until he went to speak, panting between words. “Something’s not right.”

Worry washed over Magnus’s features and he wrapped an arm behind Alec’s back to help support him. “What do you mean?”

“My stomach… it hurts,” Alec screwed his eyes shut with a wince. A sharp pain rippled through his abdomen and he had to wait for it to subside before he spoke again, “It feels like it’s being cut open.” 

Magnus held a hand above Alec’s stomach and cast the spell to let him see what was causing Alec’s pain. 

Jace re-entered the room and saw Alec leaning heavily against Magnus on the bed, his chest heaving with labored breaths as Magnus scanned him for injuries. “What’s wrong with him?”

Magnus looked at Jace. “Are you hurt?” 

“What? No?” 

“Call Catarina then help me take him to the sterile room,” Magnus said quickly, turning his attention back to Alec.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jace repeated, an edge of panic in his voice. 

The look on Magnus’s face as he turned back to Jace spoke of urgency and concern. “It's time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize after the fact also


	9. heavenly blue

 

 

Upon her arrival, Catarina had promptly kicked him out of the room that they had set up for Alec to deliver in, claiming that his magic could interfere with hers and the baby’s and make the process more complicated. It sounded like straight up bullshit to him, but he couldn’t risk the safety of his loved ones. That was, until Alec grabbed his arm as he started to leave and all but begged him to stay, to which Magnus bargained with Catarina to let him stay as long as he didn’t use magic. 

She had put up a curtain, blocking his and Alec’s view from what she was doing, and whatever spell she had put on Alec to kill the pain had done the job, as the shadowhunter was now lying quietly on the bed, his eyes closed in apparent peace. Magnus held one of Alec’s hands and ran his fingers through Alec’s hair with his free hand. He didn’t dare look away from Alec’s face, afraid that he would miss any sign of pain or anguish if he did.Jace, also refusing to leave the room, was delegated to helping Catarina with the delivery, a job he was not equipped for in the least. Through the curtain Magnus had heard Catarina threaten Jace’s life if he fainted on her.  

“Do you feel anything?” he asked Alec quietly. 

“No,” Alec said, his voice soft and tired. The attack earlier followed by enduring the labor pains had drained him of his energy. “Not really. No pain.” 

“Good,” Magnus said, bringing the hand in Alec’s hair to his cheek. “I love you, Alexander.”

“Love you, too,” Alec said, curling his lips in a small smile. 

A moment later a piercing cry filled the room, making Alec’s eyes light up upon recognition. 

“Congratulations,” Catarina called. “It’s a warlock!” 

Magnus tore his eyes away from Alec to peer around the curtain, his eyes moistening with tears immediately upon seeing a small baby being bundled in blankets by Catarina. He chose to ignore anything else on that side of the curtain, only focusing on the screaming infant whose face he had yet to lay eyes on. He felt Alec squeeze his hand and turned his attention back to him. He offered his husband a loving smile before he was suddenly being handed the small bundle by Jace, the infant looking even smaller against the blond’s large frame. 

Magnus gingerly cradled the baby, finally letting his gaze fall to the tiny scrunched face. The baby’s cries had turned to whimpers and Magnus couldn’t help but smile. 

“Beautiful,” he said. He maneuvered around so that he could show Alec their newborn, the younger man lifting a hand to flatten the blankets around the baby’s face. Alec gently touched his fingertips against a small, soft cheek and stroked it admiringly. 

Within minutes Catarina had pieced Alec back together, healing him completely and cleaning as much as she could. 

“Boy or girl?” Alec asked after a moment, realizing that Catarina had never mentioned it. 

Magnus peaked inside the blankets and grinned. “A girl,” he said.

“A girl?” Alec’s eyes widened in shock. 

Magnus nodded. “A girl.” 

“And her mark?” Alec asked, his thoughts racing. 

“I’m not sure,” Magnus said, peeking inside the blankets again. He felt a flick against his temple and he looked at Catarina, who had removed the curtain. 

“Her eyes, idiot,” Catarina said with a grin. 

“She hasn’t opened them,” Magnus said. 

“It only makes sense that she would have your mark,” Catarina reasoned. 

Alec was smiling a dopey smile now. “That means they’re going to be beautiful.”

“Hush, you,” Magnus said, unable to resist his own smile. 

“Let’s move him to your room so he’s more comfortable,” Catarina said. “Jace.”

Jace hurried to help Alec stand, whispering his congratulations to Alec as they walked carefully toward the door. 

Magnus followed the pair, the now quiet newborn held close to his chest. He couldn’t stop looking at her, memorizing everything he could about his daughter’s face. Her complexion seemed sunkissed like his, her skin colored light brown, with her dark eyelashes brushing her cheeks. He couldn’t wait for her to open her eyes, to see if she had the same mark as him. If she did have his cat eyes, he would teach her to never be ashamed of them as he had been at one point. And while he would teach her to hide them for her safety, he would also make sure she knew how beautiful they were. But at this point, it was too soon to tell if that was her mark, as her puffy eyes seemed to be staying shut. 

Magnus was thankful now that he had taken a moment earlier before Catarina arrived to clear the bedroom of damage from the fight, especially as his bare feet padded across the floor. Alec was leaning against the head of the bed, his snoogle curled behind him to prop him up. Magnus moved to the bedside and gently handed the baby to Alec. 

“She’s so small,” Alec said as he curled his arms under her. “She felt so much bigger when she was in me.”

Magnus chuckled as he crawled over Alec and sat next to him, leaning in close to share the view of their daughter. “Babies are like that.”

“Ten fingers and ten toes,” Catarina said as she entered the room. “A healthy little baby. Not that I’m surprised.” She took a set on the edge of the bed. “Have you thought of a name?” 

Alec was stunned. A name? He had had eight months to think of one and the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. Magnus laughed next to him. “Get back to us,” Magnus said. 

“You haven’t thought of one?” Alec asked, looking at his husband. 

Magnus shrugged. “No, I was going to let you pick.”

“You could’ve reminded me that that was a thing we needed to do,” Alec said. “I completely forgot.”

“Well, it didn’t help that she made her debut early.” 

“How about Jace? Jacey? It could be unisex,” the blond said. He was sprawled across the foot of the bed, propping his head up as he watched the family moment. 

Alec was about to speak before Magnus cut him off. “No, and before you suggest Jonathan or Christopher, no to those, too.” 

“Christina?” Jace offered. 

“No.”

“Ooh!” Jace sat up and clapped his hands, making the jerk in surprise. “What about  _ Alexandra~ _ ”

“I’m not opposed,” Magnus said. 

“We’re not naming her after me,” Alec protested. 

“Gideonna, sounds like Madonna,” Jace mused out loud. 

“I am opposed to that,” Magnus said. Alec nodded in agreement. 

“All the names I can think of are biblical…” Alec said. 

Magnus side-eyed his husband. “I love irony, but not when it’s permanently attached to our daughter.”

Alec started to reply but opened his mouth in a wide yawn instead. 

“Alright, you need your rest,” Catarina said, standing up to leave. “The pain blocking spell should last a while longer. You may be sore later, so Magnus, stay on top of it.” 

“‘May be sore later,’” Jace repeated and huffed. “You’re definitely going to be sore later. You should’ve seen what this one was doing,” he pointed to Catarina. “Birth is gruesome.”

Catarina stared pointedly at Jace until he got the message that he also had to leave and made to get up. She turned back to the new parents and congratulated them again before leaving the room. Jace took a moment to lean over them, kissing the baby’s forehead and giving Alec a hug. 

Magnus held his arms out in an offer to take the baby and Alec sheepishly obliged, handing her over gently. 

Alec moved the snoogle that was behind him so that he could lie down, then curled his arm around Magnus’s hips. The warlock was still sitting up and leaning against the headboard, gently bouncing the baby in his arms. 

“Is this real?” Alec asked suddenly as he looked up at the two.  

“Which part?”

“God… the whole thing? Was I really pregnant? Did I really have a baby? Did I dream all of this? Is it still a dream? Am I about to wake up?”

Magnus chuckled softly and made eye contact with Alec. “It’s all real, Alexander. I hope that’s the answer you wanted.”

“It is,” Alec said, a contented smile gracing his features. 

“You’ve been incredible the past eight months,” Magnus said, dropping a hand to brush Alec’s hair back. “You can rest now. I’ll take it from here.”

“Thank you,” Alec sighed. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Hey,” Alec mumbled as he was drifting off, “if she opens her eyes, wake me up. I want to see them.”

“I will,” Magnus agreed. “Now rest,” he said, a weak sleep spell flowing from his fingertips and into Alec. The shadowhunter didn’t try to fight the spell, instead relaxing against Magnus’s side and falling directly to sleep. 

* * *

Alec sighed in frustration for the third time since waking up. Basically, Magnus refused to hand their baby back to him despite Alec asking for her a dozen times already. Magnus was most definitely using Alec’s weakened state to his advantage. First he used the excuse that she was sleeping and he didn’t want to wake her. Then when Alec asked to hold her to feed her, Magnus refused on the grounds of Alec being too tired (which, by the way, Alec was incredibly offended by). Then Magnus just stopped offering excuses and whisked her out of the room before Alec could come after them. 

“He’s like a seahorse dad,” Jace said to Alec, both of them sitting against pillows and watching Magnus put a diaper on the infant at the foot of the bed. “You carried her until she was born and now it’s his turn.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t carry her all that time to not be able to get a good look at her now,” Alec said, not hiding his bitterness. “Magnus, please give me my baby,” he tried again.

Magnus sighed as he finished fastening the diaper, then offered the baby a sweet smile. “Do you want to go to that daddy or stay with this daddy?” he asked, leaning down to nuzzle her nose. He jerked in surprise when she smacked his cheek with a flailing arm. “Alright, alright.” He picked her up and handed her to Alec, who smiled appreciatively. 

“Wow, look at you, beautiful,” Alec said as he helped them both get more comfortable. He gently stroked the top of her head, marveling at the dark curls and whisps. She blinked up at him, showing him her bright aquamarine cat eyes. When she had first opened them earlier that day they had all gathered around her and cooed about how beautiful they were. To be honest, Alec was just as stunned by how beautiful they were now as he was earlier. Her eye color was a perfect mixture of his and Magnus’s, as if they were picked from a color palette and blended together. 

“Alec, aren’t you more of a mom than a dad?”

Alec gave Jace a puzzled look. “What?”

“Well I mean, you did the mother’s job, so aren’t you a mother?”

Magnus snorted a laugh as Alec’s cheeks turned a deep red color. “No, I’m not a mother, I’m a dad,” he said, his voice raised and a little angry.

Jace held his hands up defensively. “I’m just saying, being a mom is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Magnus offered. He was sure that if Alec was holding a bow instead of a baby, he would’ve been eating an arrow now. 

“I’m her dad,” Alec said finitely. 

“Alright, alright,” Jace said, then he looked at Magnus. “So what’s that make you?”

“What do you mean? I’m her dad, too.”

“No, but like, what is she going to call you? Magic dad?”

“No, she’s going to call me… something else...She can’t even talk yet!” 

“Chill. What are you going to call her? Have you thought of a name for her yet?” Jace asked, changing the topic and looking between Alec and Magnus. “Jacey is still on the table.”

“Give up,” Magnus said. He squeezed in on the other side of Alec 

“I did a little research while you were hogging her to yourself,” Alec started. “I was looking for something for her eyes...And, what do you think of ‘Mina’? Supposedly in Persian, it means the azure color of heaven… And I know her eyes aren’t  _ blue _ blue, but… they’re the most beautiful blue I’ve ever seen. Plus, if her magic looks like yours...”

Magnus had started smiling mid-ramble. “Her eye color is in the blue family.” He leaned forward to get a better look at their daughter. “I think it’s perfect for her. Mina. Mina Lightwood Bane.”

The warm moment of naming their child was interrupted by the doorbell, making Alec roll his eyes. Maryse and Izzy had both been making full use of Amazon’s same-day shipping and sending gifts as they came across them. Both had visited earlier in the day and left with the promise of making sure the new parents had everything they needed. That said, Alec hadn’t anticipated the constant barrage of delivery men knocking on his door. 

“I’ll get it,” Jace said, hopping off the bed. Alec gave him an appreciative look in reply. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2019/06/08 It was brought to my attention today that Cassandra Clare has also used the name Mina for one of the children of someone or something—anyway, I want it on the record that choosing the name 'Mina' was not an intentional nod to Cassandra Clare's own use of the name. It was purely coincidental. That's all! Carry on!


	10. (heartwarming) epilogue

  
  


Alec and Magnus walked huddled together down the sidewalk of the well-lit brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood. It wasn’t quite dark, but the added glow from the streetlamps wasn’t unwelcome. Skipping ahead of them was a small girl in a long purple dress littered with gold stars, a pointed purple hat on top of her head and an orange pumpkin-shaped basket in her hand. Her outfit was entirely her interpretation of a sorceress. 

Hot on her heels was a tiny blue pirate and a slightly larger unicorn. Max was generally disinterested in the costume aspect of Halloween and was open to influence from his parents when it came to his clothing, though he was happy to get to run around in the open without hiding his blue skin or hair. Meanwhile, Rafe was not completely clear on the concept of Halloween, just that it resulted in bags of candy coming home with him--something he was 100% on board with. Needless to say, his costume was also highly influenced by his parents (read: Magnus). 

Alec and Magnus hung back on the sidewalk as they watched their kids run up to each door, stealing a piece of candy out of each of their buckets when they could. 

“They’re so cute, aren’t they?” Magnus said, tearing open the wrapper to some Skittles with his teeth. 

“The cutest,” Alec agreed. “I sent Jace pictures earlier and I could feel his sadness through text message. He really wishes he could’ve been here.”

Magnus waved a hand dismissively. “There will be other Halloweens.”

Max suddenly ran up to them and stopped in his tracks, holding his half-full bucket up to his parents. 

“What’s wrong?” Alec asked, taking the bucket. 

“‘m tired,” Max said, holding his arms up. Magnus obliged the three-year-old and picked him up, propping him on his hip. Max promptly placed his head on Magnus’s shoulder in a way that he could continue watching his siblings. 

“We’ll go home soon,” Alec said, moving behind Magnus to kiss the top of Max’s head. Halloween had become very special to him since Mina was born. It was a night that none of his family had to hide who they were. Magnus and Mina’s eyes glowed their natural colors and shapes, Max’s blue skin and hair were unglamored, and he and Rafe could relax and not worry about protecting their warlock family members from unwanted attention. He sighed happily and stretched an arm around Magnus’s shoulders, Max somehow wedged between them. “I love Halloween,” Alec said.

Magnus looked at his husband and smiled. “I know you do.”

“Baba, you feel funny,” Max said, rubbing his cheek against Magnus’s shoulder. 

“What?” Magnus was startled by the sudden statement. “What do you mean?” 

Max shrugged. “I dunno. You jus’ do.”

Magnus shot a look at Alec, something that could’ve been confusion or concern. “You don’t think…”

“I do think,” Alec grinned.

“But we wouldn’t know so soon--”

“It’s been a week. I knew in two. Besides, in all the years since then, how many times has the potion failed?”

“...None… none times.” Magnus admitted. “Shit…” 

Max pinched Magnus’s lips shut, “Don’t say a bad word, baba.”

“I’m sorry,” Magnus mumbled. Max relented and released his hold. “Alec, this is too soon, I’ve changed my mind, I’m not ready.”

Alec frowned. “Really?”

Magnus was flustered by the pitiful look on Alec’s face. “No, not really, I’m just… overreacting. But seriously, this is terrifying.”

“Imagine how I felt! At least you saw it coming.”

“What are you talking about?” Max asked. 

Mina and Rafe chose that moment to rejoin them. “Baba’s having a baby,” Mina blurted out. 

“What??” Rafe said, turning to look at Magnus. “But you’re a boy!”

“So?” Mina said, “Daddy had me. He’s a boy.”

Magnus covered his face with his free hand. “How do you know, Mina?”

She shrugged. “I heard you talk about it.”

Magnus looked at Alec and shoved a finger in his direction. “I told you she wasn’t asleep!”

“She’s a really good faker!” Alec said in his defense. 

Mina grinned smugly, or as smug as a seven-year-old could.

Max suddenly perked up, his energy renewed. “So I’m gonna be a big brother?”

“It seems so, kiddo,” Alec said. 

Rafe tugged on Alec’s sleeve to get his attention. “Can this one be like us?”

“I don’t know, we have to wait and see,” Alec said, earning a groan from the young shadowhunter. 

“I hope you’re happy, Alexander,” Magnus said grumpily. 

“I’ve literally never been happier,” Alec replied, leaning over to kiss Magnus on the cheek. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic leaves room for a lot of spinoffs. I would like to do a proper magicians crossover with Eliot, and I'd like to do a sequel to this fic, as well as side fics for this one that describe some events that I didn't have the chance to write.   
> I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, questions, and critiques are always welcome! Kudos and bookmarks are also beautiful ways to let me know you liked it.  
> Thank you for reading~!


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